Naruto Neo
by Rushe84
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto - also known as the Fourth Hokage's Legacy, and the Host of the Nine-tails - takes the ninja world by storm when he graduates from the academy a year ahead of his time; becoming a student of Maito Gai. Currently under revision.
1. Konoha's Green Beast

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other affiliated characters, locations or ideas. I do own all original content including characters, locations, jutsu and plot lines. Likeness to any real people or places is unintentional and coincidental.

Extended summery: Naruto, the young container of the Kyuubi has known only loneliness and hatred, but what if by some miracle he manages to graduate one full year early? And what if Rock Lee didn't quite prove himself and failed? Can Naruto keep up with the wild Gai-sensei, the genius Neji and the dexterous Tenten? Can he prove his ninja ability to Sakura and win her heart, or more importantly; will he ever realize his dream of becoming the strongest Hokage ever?

Author's Note: I hadn't realized that the "Neo" in the fiction name could be confused with the main character from the Matrix. I'm sorry for any misconceptions, but I'd like to make it clear that I do not plan on making a crossover with the Matrix; Naruto Neo is a new look at the Naruto storyline where one change in the beginning vastly changes the world. Again, sorry for those of you looking forward to "jacking in to Konoha" but this is not a crossover fic.

**Naruto Neo Pilot Chapter: Konoha's Green Beast**

- Konoha academy -

Iruka sighed at the determined look on Naruto's face. It was the end of their fourth year in the academy and the eleven year old blonde had very loudly announced that he wanted to take the graduation exam. "Naruto, you know that you're not ready!"

"I've trained like crazy, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up on top of his desk to point at the chuunin, "I don't have parents so I was able to train twice as hard as anyone here! I stayed up late every night this year to improve…"

"Sure you stayed up late, but you were also late for every class because you slept in!" Iruka retorted sternly, causing all of the children in the class to jeer and laugh at Naruto's expense.

In a low and dangerous voice, Naruto made one last try, "If you won't let me even try, then you're a failure as a teacher. I've sworn on the Hokage Mountain that I'll become stronger than all of them combined; even if I have to kick your ass to prove it, Iruka-sensei."

Ignoring the threat, the chuunin was none-the-less impressed with the kid's persistence. He'd always been stubborn, and the first day that he learned about the Hokage's of Konoha he began to continuously claim that he'd best them all. Finally his kind heart went out to the boy and he sighed heavily, "Ok. You failed last year, so let's see how you do this time. But remember, if you fail three times then we cannot accept you as a student in the academy."

"I won't even be here for the third try; give me the exam, Iruka-sensei." Naruto demanded, still standing on top of his desk and ignoring the jeering eleven year olds. Except for Haruno Sakura; he could never ignore her!

"You're such a brat, Naruto." she said hurtfully. "Even I'm not ready for the graduation exam yet; Sasuke might be, but not you!"

That hurt. But it only served to rekindle his resolve; because now he had to impress the pink-haired girl he coveted so much.

"I'll take the exam, too." a low, extremely serious voice stated. Everyone looked towards its source, not surprised that it had come from none other than Uchiha Sasuke. "If this bubbling idiot has a snowball's chance in hell, then there's no reason that I can't ace it." Quite unlike Naruto, the raven-haired boy received praises and cheers from his classmates, not to mention nearly 12 girls swooning.

Already having been tamed by Naruto, Iruka silently took out two copies of the graduation exam. Not to be upstaged by these children, Iruka rocketed past Naruto before gently, yet forcefully, striking him in the middle of his chest with his palm. As the blonde cried out and flew back into the air Iruka zipped around behind him and lifted the boy's seat. Nimbly, the chuunin caught Naruto out of the air with the seat before dexterously setting both the chair and its occupant on the ground and sliding it back under the desk. On the desk in front of the blonde was his exam, dropped by the teacher milliseconds before he performed the flashy show of skill.

"Woah, I didn't even see him move!" Ami gasped in awe, staring wide-eyed at Iruka, who was smiling superiorly at the children.

"Iruka-sensei really put that Naruto brat in his place, didn't he?" a nameless boy mentioned in an impressed voice.

"He deserved it." Sakura scoffed, shutting her eyes and crossing her arms. "I kind of hope that he manages to pass the exam. That way he'll be out of my hair for once."

Towards the back of the room, hidden from Naruto by her hands and her neighbor's shoulder, Hinata was frowning at the blonde, worried that Iruka had hurt him. Or will hurt him when he announces that Naruto failed the exam. "Poor Naruto…" she moaned softly, way too quietly to hear over the louder students in the class.

After calmly setting Sasuke's exam in front of him, Iruka announced to the rest of the class that they were going out to practice walking along a rope tied across a pool. So as their classmates stood up to follow their teacher out to the on-grounds training area, Naruto and Sasuke both made a pact that they would not lose to each other, though for their own reasons.

- Hours later -

Iruka once again had to put class on hold when Naruto finally completed the written exam. "Alright, Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka urged calmly, "perform the bunshin no jutsu and create one clone."

"Too easy." Sasuke muttered as he skillfully performed the required hand seals and began concentrating on creating an illusionary clone of himself. When he was ready he activated the molded chakra and leaned his head back, grinning to himself at his accomplishment.

Suddenly raucous laughter filled the room, followed by Naruto exclaiming, "So much for the mighty Sasuke!" Of course he ignored the resulting tirade from the kid's fan base.

"What are you talking about, moron?" the Uchiha demanded coldly as he glanced to his right, spotting his clone, "I performed the jutsu perfectly."

"Oh, really?" Naruto goaded with a smirk, "I don't know too many ghosts that can use the bunshin no jutsu."

"Ghosts? What is this idiot babbling about now?" Sasuke murmured to himself as both his and his clone's eyes traveled down the illusion's body. They both paused, frowning at the scene. True to what Naruto had claimed, the fake Sasuke was floating a foot off of the ground, having nothing beyond his faded knees.

"I'll give you one more try, Uchiha." Iruka mentioned sternly.

"I only need one more attempt." Sasuke grumbled before clearing his mind and focusing on the task at hand. This time he made sure to form the legs. "Bunshin no jutsu!"

Iruka held out his hand before turning his thumb down at the ground and saying, "Fail." in a voice that said that he knew it would happen.

Sasuke glared first at Iruka before looking towards his clone to see what was wrong. This time, the clone Sasuke faded from his abdomen and trailed out, leaving him headless. Of course Naruto was having a fit of laughter at this, rolling on the ground and clutching his stomach as he enjoyed watching the genius fail. "It's just a worthless illusion anyway…" he scoffed before pulling out an eraser and skillfully tossing it through the clone to disperse it. The pink rubber sailed through the smoke generated by the passing of the clone before flying right into Naruto's open mouth, causing him to gag and jump to his feet and shout in rage.

"I'll kick your ass for real!" the blonde screamed as he took a running step towards his rival. Before Sakura and the other girls could stand up to hold Naruto away from Sasuke, Iruka spoke sternly, "Naruto, I don't want you to waste any more of my class time. Perform the bunshin no jutsu, please." The girls had settled down by the time Sasuke made it back to his desk, ignoring how Sakura apologized for Naruto's behavior.

With a nod, the blonde with slanted eyes and bright orange clothes to resemble the fox monster trapped inside him mentally prepared himself for the jutsu. He widened his stance and took a deep breath before imagining Sasuke's look when he made it. He activated it.

Ino laughed the loudest, "Look at that pathetic thing! It's too tired to even stand!" True to her words, Naruto's clone was crumpled on the ground gasping for breath and shaking in an effort to roll over. He had used every drop of chakra that he had molded simply to create the clone, leaving it with nothing of its own to draw on.

Iruka sighed and put his face in his hands only to moan, "Naruto…" into them, sounding quite disappointed.

"Ah! You gave Sasuke a second chance! You have to let me go again!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, pointing at the eleven year old Uchiha. Iruka gave in, allowing Naruto one last try. "I'll show you this time." the blonde muttered as he formed the first seal and held it so that he could concentrate. 'I have to do better than Sasuke…' he thought, feeling the familiar burning desire to best his rival rising in his stomach. 'No, forget Sasuke! I have to impress Sakura so that she'll like me back!' he corrected, feeling an even stronger feeling rising in his chest. Suddenly, he was enveloped in a strong tingly sensation as an epiphany struck him, 'This is for me. I have to do the best that I can to prove that my long years of loneliness weren't for nothing. If I'm going to be the strongest, I have to worry about me first.'

With this powerful thought buzzing in his head, Naruto meaningfully performed each seal in turn, each one fueling his desire to prove himself. Finally, with his ears ringing and his heart pounding, he called, "Bunshin no jutsu!" and activated the chakra he'd molded.

Iruka stared dumbfounded at what stood beside Naruto. The entire class was silent as the teacher slowly reached his hand out, thumb to the side to give his decision. Naruto gulped, the suspense tearing at him. Finally Iruka smiled and raised his thumb to the ceiling, "You pass!" he chuckled proudly. Naruto jumped ten feet into the air…

- Two days later -

With his ID taken care of, retaken and everything, Naruto woke early in the morning and went about his morning routine. As he fitted his goggles onto his head, he paused, suddenly realizing that there was something else that belonged on his forehead. The Konoha forehead plate!

Remembering that over ramen last night, Iruka had instructed him to go to the academy for something today. Confused, Naruto did as he was asked. He slid the door to Iruka's class open and entered with his shoulders back and a grin etched into his face. "I'm here, Iruka-sensei! Now what?"

The room became so silent that birds could be heard chirping gaily outside. Naruto noticed that he was being glared at by a large number of students, though once again he failed to notice Hinata smiling shyly down at him. Right now he was too focused on Sasuke, who was glaring at him with such anger and hatred that Naruto could practically hear them digging his grave already.

Finally recovering from his momentary stupor, Iruka addressed Naruto, "You forgot what I said yesterday, didn't you?"

"What? Did I do something wrong?" the boy asked, confused anew.

Iruka sighed, not surprised that he had forgotten. "Naruto, you're supposed to go to Shizuhara-sensei's classroom; it's room 3 - D."

"Oh…" the blonde muttered sheepishly before taking a step backwards and slowly sliding the door shut. He was blushing deeply, aware of how stupid he had looked in front of Sakura. Shaking this off, he turned and stiffly began walking towards his new destination.

- Shizuhara's classroom -

Naruto was treated to more stiff silence as soon as he entered the room full of recent twelve year old graduates. Finally, a girl he'd seen now and again on school grounds spoke to him, "I think you have the wrong room, little guy."

"I think that's Uzumaki Naruto, Tenten." her friend muttered. "You know, the kid that the rumors are about."

"I think he might have spread those rumors to make himself seem cool." a different girl whispered before taking a peek at him from behind her cupped hand. "He's the boy that all of the adults hate."

"What a loser…" a young boy with green hair grunted.

Naruto took it upon himself to correct the girls, "I graduated already, so I'm here to become a real ninja, dattebayo! If anyone thinks that I can't I'll kick your ass!" Feeling better about himself now, Naruto crossed his arms and grinned.

"Enough!" a woman barked sternly from the front of the class. "Have a seat, Uzumaki. I have a lot of names to announce and I won't let you hold me up; I'm not like Iruka, you know." That seemed to clear up the confusion. As instructed, Naruto took a seat. "Now, please come in."

Ten pillars of smoke erupted along the front of the classroom, revealing a man or woman holding the rank of either chuunin or jounin. Among them Kakashi and Gai looked the kids over, the latter muttering that his students looked stronger. Kakashi, in retaliation glanced towards his rival and asked, "What? Did you just say something?" Gai scoffed, impressed with his rival's cool attitude. He was slightly upset that his favorite, Rock Lee, hadn't graduated due to a lack of chakra control.

"Ok, Kurenai-sensei will take team one, consisting of…" Shizuhara-sensei began. It took her twenty minutes to call teams 1 through 8, but now, "Gai-sensei will take team 9, consisting of Hyuuga Neji, Tenten and…" Shizuhara glanced up and turned her piercing black eyes on the blonde before finishing, "Uzumaki Naruto."

- Outside -

After introductions, Gai led the three academy graduates to training area 12, which was a lake with logs pounded through the surface to form the swirling Konoha leaf symbol. The jounin, decked out in green spandex and sporting a tacky bowl-cut stood on the log that represented the end of the stem, while the three prospective students stood on the three logs representing the point of the leaf. They had been required to leave all of their tools and any perishable object back on dry land.

"Yes! This is the ultra-hard, high failure rate genin exam held by yours truly!" the spaz cried excitedly before pointing at the three unimpressed children. "Listen up, because this won't be as easy as you think it is; there's a 66 percent chance that you'll be sent back to the academy!"

"Why the hell did we graduate, then!?" Naruto screamed, nearly falling off of his perch.

"Naruto…" Tenten mumbled to the blonde, "That was to select the thirty students that were even capable of taking the genin exam." She spoke softly, almost as if talking to a baby.

"This loser will hold us back if he somehow manages to become a genin." Neji stated, not bothering to take his white eyes off of Gai-sensei. "It'd be best if I were alone, anyway." Naruto glared.

"Oh! My lovely students are all so full of youthful energy!" Gai exclaimed happily, giving what he thought was a cool pose. In reality it was little more than spastic posturing from a man with a silly haircut and a large nose.

"Let's just get this over with." Neji muttered in an annoyed tone with his arms crossed and his face blank.

"First Sasuke now this guy… I'll show you…" Naruto seethed under his breath as he gave his gaudy sensei his full attention. This caused Tenten to sigh sadly before also turning her attention to Gai-sensei.

"Yes! This is part one!" he cried as he pulled out a sharp kunai and twirled it before catching it skillfully so that it was held upside-down. "I'm going to throw 30 kunai at you guys and you're going to dodge them; if you take more than one hit you disqualify. You are free to move to any log you wish, but you cannot touch the water." To start them off, he threw the first at Neji, who casually hopped in an angle to land just ahead and to the left of Tenten, singling out Naruto in hopes of having him getting disqualified; he still felt that the blonde would be more trouble than he's worth.

Suddenly Gai threw two kunai at his other targets, both of whom managed to move in time, "Yes! We're gonna speed up just a little, go!" As stated, he began to throw the knives faster, forcing the academy students to work harder to avoid them. All except for Neji, who gracefully twirled as he bounded from one log to another, dodging the kunai by very wide margins without breaking a sweat.

As they went, Gai sped up again, but after throwing eight kunai at Neji, only to have them effortlessly evaded, he began to pelt all that he had at Tenten and Naruto. So far he'd hit Tenten once on the left forearm, but had only come close to wounding Naruto. Gai made it obvious that he was aiming at Neji before sliding his finger along the handle as the kunai flew so that it instead curved for Naruto.

Caught off guard, the kunai sank into his right bicep, causing him to grunt in pain and glare. In reply, Naruto yanked the kunai out of his arm and threw it right back at Gai-sensei. The look on his face said that he wouldn't back down, even with the wound. Gai-sensei grinned at this as he casually deflected the weapon with the next one he was going to throw, pleased with the youthful fire burning in the boy. He sped up once more, throwing the knives at both Naruto and Tenten, while pointedly ignoring Neji standing off to the left with his arms crossed.

The jounin managed to mask his emotions when he noticed that he had the 30th kunai in his hand. "Yo!" Gai cried as he sent the kunai rocketing towards Neji, hoping to catch him off guard. It wasn't to be, because the young genius deftly caught the weapon out of the air by the ring on its handle and spun it on his finger.

"Very good." Gai-sensei laughed energetically before pointing right at Tenten and exclaiming, "Now jump in the water, find those kunai and put them into separate piles over there. That's part two."

When the energetic jounin realized they were standing in uncertainty he cried, "You won't impress me by just standing there!" Gai called a mere second before leaping forward and landing between Tenten and Naruto. With a youthful laugh he grabbed them by the shoulders and shoved them off of their logs. Naruto's cry of surprise melded with Tenten's 'Kyaa!' as they flailed and fell backwards, hitting the surface of the water with a great splash!

Neji blinked once as Gai turned towards him to do the same, but before the jounin had a chance, the Byakugan genius performed a graceful back flip and landed feet first into the lake. He had the advantage because of his wide range of vision; this competition was in the bag.

- Minutes later -

Neji stood calmly on dry land with his wet hair matted to his head. Beside him was a pile of the 14 kunai that he had used Byakugan to locate. He watched with subdued interest as Tenten splashed out of the water and came to a stop by her own pile.

"That's the tenth…" she muttered in an exhausted tone before slowly lowering herself to the ground to sit and watch Naruto in his search. She had assumed that they were only supposed to collect their share of the 30 kunai, so she had only picked up a third of them, but after counting Neji's she became concerned for Naruto; he only had four in his hands, leaving just two kunai in the lake. She didn't exactly like him, nor would it bother her greatly if he failed, but she couldn't help but pity the eleven year old.

It took Naruto another five minutes to find the last two kunai and slog up to land. He still wore the same determined look as he glared at Neji, who had effortlessly come in first.

Gai-sensei dashed across the logs, jogged across the water and came to a stop in front of his students, all the while grinning like a madman. "Super work, guys. Now for part three!"

"There's more?" Naruto and Tenten groaned in unison, both visibly worn out from the swimming and holding their breaths for so long.

"This is pathetically easy." Neji murmured to himself, "It's nothing compared to Kakashi's bell test that I failed last year." Like Naruto, Neji had graduated a year early, but unfortunately the genius with the Sharingan didn't believe that Neji and his companions showed enough teamwork to pass.

"My rival's test is mighty, indeed." Gai-sensei called loudly, "But mine is just as difficult; I've also failed every student I've been offered!"

"Whatever." Naruto growled as he climbed to his feet and looked Gai-sensei in the face, "I'll definitely pass, no matter what. Bring on the test!" He glared at Neji when he scoffed the word "loser" under his breath.

With a grin, the jounin crouched and picked up one kunai from each of their piles before standing back up. "Ichi!" he threw Neji's kunai into the bottom of a high branch of a nearby tree. "Ni!" he cried as he launched Tenten's into a different branch of the same tree. "San!" the bowl-cut wearing man called dramatically as Naruto's kunai joined the other two in the bottom of a random branch near the top. "First one to make it back to me with their kunai wins. Go!"

Naruto smirked as he ran to the tree, his stamina mysteriously restored. Thanks to his many exploits as a prankster he had darted up and down trees countless times; it was one of the few things that he was actually good at. Ignoring the closing wound on his right arm, Naruto threw himself at the tree and began to furiously climb up.

To his left, Neji was doing his best to calculate the best route and pass him, but the blonde just had too much practice from peeking into windows as women dressed or climbing on top of roofs to egg hapless homes or apply graffiti to advertisements. Naruto stayed in the lead!

Below them both, Tenten struggled, her poor girlish body unaccustomed to such rigorous exercise. She was breathing hard and wearing out quickly, but the thought of becoming a powerful kunoichi drove her to continue despite her discomfort.

"Yes!" Naruto gasped as he landed on the branch that his kunai was stuck too, and with a quick reach around he pried it loose just as Neji landed on the branch beside him, having grabbed his kunai as he jumped past. "I'll show you that I'm not a loser…" the blonde promised before doing something inconceivable. He hopped off of the branch and free fell towards the ground.

"That idiot." Neji scoffed as he quickly worked his way down the tree via branches. "I'll make it back to Gai well before that moron kills himself from the fall."

Tenten moaned sadly as first Naruto then Neji streaked past her; she still hadn't even made it to her kunai. Taking a calming breath, she went back to her steady climb.

Naruto, having had a year of tree climbing experience and a special body courtesy of Yondaime Hokage, knew that he had an advantage here. He bit the kunai handle in his teeth and reached out, painfully catching a tree branch as it blurred past. He came to a sudden stop, his hands being cut open as the kinetic energy from his fall was absorbed. Without so much as a grunt, the blonde let go and continued his drop, leaving Neji to curse and speed his descent.

"There's no way I'll lose to this… loser. A genius cannot…" Neji swore desperately, using his Byakugan to watch for stray branches and leaves as he sped up.

Naruto bit harder into his kunai as he once again caught his fall with his bloody hands. He put the pain out of his mind, because he knew that he had something important to do. That same feeling from before, the tingling that he got when he told himself that he had to become a ninja for himself began to grow in his chest again. No longer worried about his own well being, Naruto let go, prepared to fall the rest of the way down.

Neji landed half a second after Naruto and put on a burst of speed, determined not to be beaten by an idiot that younger than he. As he gradually caught up and began to pass the boy, Naruto leaned forward and gave a growl as he put forth more effort than ever before.

With his legs screaming for him to stop and his lungs on the verge of bursting, Naruto made it to Gai and tossed the kunai into the air, unable to stop in time. He continued passed the jounin, and because of this he didn't see if he won or not.

"It's just as I thought;" Neji could be heard chuckling, "a genius can't be beaten by unskilled idiots."

- Minutes later -

When Tenten had made it out of the tree and returned her kunai to Gai-sensei, coming in last, the jounin grinned. "You three look worn out. This was a pretty tough exam, wasn't it?"

"We're finally done?" Tenten breathed happily. She was sure that if there had been one more test she would pass out.

"Almost! Prepare yourselves for part four; this one will be tougher than the other three put together!" Gai exclaimed proudly, evidently pleased that he could create something on such a level. Tenten moaned and hung her head, crying inwardly about having to train under the most childish and insane jounin of them all. "Neji, are you prepared for this?"

Neji shrugged and leaned his head back as he puffed out his twelve year old chest, "I'm certain to trounce any measly training ploy you can muster."

After giving a thumbs-up and a word of encouragement, Gai turned to Naruto and repeated his question.

The fox container put on a mask of hardened determination and answered in a low and dangerous voice, "I don't care if there are 50, even 100 parts to this; I will not stop until I've proven that I'm a real ninja. Even if it's shaving off your amazingly thick eyebrows, I'll do it."

"That's the fire of youth that I love!" Gai-sensei cried as he clenched his fists as the sheer passion of his statement rocked through his entire body. "Now, the beautiful kunoichi! Are you prepared?"

Moments before Naruto's answer Tenten would have asked for a break, or simply back down and wait for a different sensei to take her. But after seeing his unshakable resolve and being moved by his words, she set her feet, took a deep breath and pushed out her own chest. "I'll stick with it until the end, Gai-sensei." she answered with a smile.

"Ok, meet me on top of the academy roof in twenty minutes! Seishuun!" and without another word the wild jounin exploded, leaving nothing but smoke and weary genin in his wake.

- Training grounds 3 -

Kakashi sighed at the three academy students he'd tied to the three logs pounded into the ground. He had been giving them the bell test that he'd learned from his sensei the Yondaime, who had received the same test from Jiraiya, who had learned it from the Sandaime's test who had been evaluated by the co-creator of the bell test, Nidaime Hokage.

The three had failed to work together and were therefore bound to the logs and forced to watch him eat lunch. The fact that they had the honor of seeing his face meant very little, considering they had little chance of becoming genin today. This was visible on the little girl's face, who was crying after having been told that they shouldn't even bother going back to the academy and quit because they lacked all skill to be ninjas.

"Yo, Kakashi!" an exuberant adult cried as he appeared out of a burst of smoke and leaves. Gai stood proudly behind the silver-haired jounin, who calmly replaced his mask, set his bentou on the ground and turned towards his rival.

"Shouldn't you be testing your students, Gai? Have they failed your overly difficult tests already?" the lazy genius wondered, not truly meaning harm with his words.

"Haha! Kakashi, it looks like I win once again! What's the score now?" Gai exclaimed, grinning at his childhood friend.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head, somewhat surprised that Gai had managed to find three kids that could keep up with his insane demands. "We're now tied at 31 wins since you were inaugurated as a jounin."

"Yes!" the spaz cried as he threw both arms victoriously into the air and began to cry tears of happiness. In the next instant he was standing in a 'cool-guy' pose and grinning with his pure white teeth gleaming in the sun, "Next time we meet, Hatake Kakashi, I will pull into the lead! But now I have to go meet my cute students to tell them the good news. Ja!" Once again he exploded, leaving Kakashi with a blank look and three crying children.

- Preview -

Team Gai accepts their first mission. What? Garbage duty!? In the next chapter of Naruto Neo, our loveable yet angry protagonist will begin his new life as a genin of the hidden village of Konoha!


	2. Fiery First Mission

**Chapter 02: Fiery First Mission**

- Academy roof -

It wasn't long before Gai-sensei made his way along the tiled roof and came to a stop in front of the children seated on a bench before him and shouted, "Congratulations! The three of you are now genin!" Mr. bowl-cut then gave a grin that sparkled in the sunlight and put both of his hands on his hips as he leaned back with laughter, fully energized by the light workout he had gotten from testing the kids.

"Do you mean it, super-thick-brows!?" Naruto gasped as he jumped to his feet, hardly daring to believe his ears.

"Of course I do, super-blonde-brat!" Gai cried, giving a thumbs-up with his spontaneous return nickname. "You're just like me, you know."

"What?" Naruto grunted angrily, "You take that back, you ugly piece of…!"

"Like me, you're strong and full of youthful passion!" Gai continued, having either ignored Naruto's retort or simply not having heard it. "But you need a rival, because competition and rivalry are the keys to becoming great like me! As you work to surpass him and he works to pass you, you will both soar to amazing heights and maybe one day become the top ninjas of Konoha. Like Kakashi and myself!"

Suddenly the ugly man with the huge nose began to make sense. 'Yeah, if I do my best to stay better than Sasuke and Neji, then I'll become the Hokage for sure!' Naruto thought intensely. Maybe this spaz wasn't so bad after all…

"Which is why you'll have to listen to me closely, super-blonde-brat; I'll make sure that you find the perfect rival. In fact, you inspire me to work twice as hard to surpass Kakashi! Yes!" And with this last exclamation Gai patted Naruto roughly on the shoulder before turning to Neji and Tenten, oblivious that in his excitement he had forgotten to hold back. As Naruto cried out and staggered off balance towards the edge of the roof, Gai said, "What are your goals, then? We can all work on them together!"

"Ah, Naruto!" Tenten gasped when the blonde screamed and fell off of the roof. Neji, being the self-concerned punk that he was, had sat back and watched the entire thing, simply enjoying the situation.

- Ground floor -

"Ack! What the hell?" a young boy in a blue jacket cried as an orange blur landed on him, knocking them both to the ground. A dog barked from somewhere inside the boy's jacket. In a rage, the boy grabbed Naruto by the collar and hauled him against the wall of the school. "No one told me that it would be raining idiots today or else I'd have brought an umbrella."

"Shut up, Kiba!" Naruto flared, squirming in the Inuzuka's grasp. "Let go of me or I'll kick you ass!"

"Man, you're not even worth it. First you get preferential treatment from Iruka-sensei and now you're falling on people… I wonder when you'll figure out just how annoying you are." Kiba scoffed before releasing the blonde. Akamaru barked tauntingly from the safe folds of Kiba's jacket as the pair turned and continued on their way.

- Academy roof -

After being retrieved by Gai, Naruto sat on the bench beside the kunoichi as their jounin explained to them the values of teamwork. Finally he was finished and he felt that it was time to try his question once again. "So, what are your goals?"

Naruto, being himself, had to answer first. "I'm going to be the strongest ninja in Konoha and make everyone acknowledge me. I'm going to be Hokage!"

"Yeah, right." Neji scoffed cruelly before turning his creepy eyes on the blonde, "Only a handful of ninjas are capable of competing for that name. A loser such as yourself will never have that opportunity. Your place is that of a foot soldier; it's impossible to change your destiny once it's been decided."

Naruto flipped him off, "The first person I'll beat is you, creep." Gai watched with a subdued grimace, knowing that Naruto had a long way to get before he was ready for what lay ahead of them. Nevertheless, the jounin looked at Tenten.

On cue, the cute girl answered, "I'm going to be a top notch kunoichi like Tsunade-sama."

Naruto waited for Neji to scoff at her as well, but when he didn't Naruto refused to let it slide, "Why aren't you spewing your crap at Tenten, huh?"

Neji calmly glanced towards Naruto and replied, "Because with hard work she has the potential of achieving her goal." This caused the girl to smile and give a peace sign.

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto grouched, "Then what about you? What are your goals?"

"I don't want to say." the genius replied. "But about that first mission you mentioned; let's get started on it."

"Haha! You three are just oozing youthful energy! To the park!" Gai-sensei cried before exploding.

- Shodai Memorial Park -

In his excitement at finally having students, Gai had neglected to mention just which one of Konoha's many parks they were supposed to meet in. It had taken the children three tries to find that Gai had meant the Founder's Memorial Park in the southern part of Konoha.

They found Gai performing one-handed pushups with his legs up in the air on the edge of a bench. He pushed off and landed his flip with a crouch. As he stood he passed his arm across the massive park, "You've probably been here before," Naruto and Neji both muttered that they hadn't, but this didn't bother Gai one bit, "but this time you're not here to feed birds or walk with your girlfriend!" Tenten mentioned that she'd never had a girlfriend, but again Gai paid it no mind. "Today you're going to perform your first D-rank mission. Do you see all of this trash lying around?"

"We're garbage collectors now?" Neji scoffed irritably. "Fine. As long as we don't need to do some silly competition to see who can gather the most trash…"

"Your job is to get the most that you can! The genin with the largest sack of litter will have the honor of learning a special jutsu from yours truly." Gai exclaimed happily. "Explode, my youthful fireflies!"

Tenten giggled softly, "Gai-sensei, you have to give us the trash bags first."

"Right, right." the jounin muttered, shaking his head amusedly as he reaching into a hidden pouch sewn into the inside of his vest. He tossed a watertight, tearproof plastic sack to each of his students before holding his open hand out towards the park. "Now, let's make this place as beautiful as we are!"

Somewhat ashamed to be seen in public with this guy, the three genin moved in silence to begin their task.

- Elsewhere -

Gai-sensei had left to find Kakashi to 'show him the glory of his youth', leaving the genin to their janitorial duty. As soon as he found him he gave his Bruce Lee battle cry as he came in for a flashy landing, waves crashing against the rocks in his mind and everything.

Kakashi frowned as he looked up from his adult book. Standing before him in all his tacky glory was Maito Gai, loudly proclaiming that it was time for him to pull into the lead. With a sigh he gave in, saying, "Alright, but it was my turn to choose the game, right?"

"Do your worst, Kakashi!" Gai goaded with his eyes full of fire and his soul screaming to explode.

"Well…" the silver-haired ninja glanced off to one side as he considered his options. Certainly he didn't want to do anything that would take a long time, or take too much effort. He also seemed to have been affected by his adult book, so he came up with, "First to get a cute girl to smile at them wins."

"Yes! And if I lose I'll go a week wearing a pink leotard!" Gai exclaimed boastingly.

"There you go making stupid rules for yourself again." Kakashi sighed, slightly put off by his rival's strange habits. "We'll go for an hour or until one of us gets a real smile from a real cutie."

"Ok! Youth explosion!" Gai cried as he exploded again, leaving behind smoke and the silver-haired sloth.

Because Kakashi had chosen the game, it was only fair that Gai had the first try. So with the lazy jounin hiding behind an Icha Icha Paradise billboard, he watched as his bowl-haired rival snuck up behind his unsuspecting game piece. Kakashi shook his head slowly, "Scaring her won't help you."

True to his words, as Gai jumped out into view and cried at the top of his lungs, "Hey, cutie, what do you think of my manly explosion of passion!?"

The woman froze and pulled a toddler to the side so that he was hidden behind his mother. Slowly she backed away, staring at Gai with a slightly appalled look on her face. "S…stay away from my kids…" she muttered before grabbing up her son and making a mad dash for safety.

"Wha? But!" Gai called after her, but to no avail. He hung his head in shame as Kakashi landed gently beside him.

"Well, looks like it's my turn. Right?" he said, hoping to finish this up as soon as he could; he was moments from seeing if the main character…

"Give it all you've got, Kakashi." Gai urged strongly, quickly recovering from his minor set back. "Don't go easy on me, my rival." Kakashi didn't answer, he just stood in place staring at Gai, waiting silently for him to get the clue and vanish. Gai didn't catch the hint though, he just continued to stand with his thumb raised at Kakashi and his teeth sparkling now and again.

This went on for another twenty seconds before Kakashi blinked and turned away. With Gai standing in his 'cool-guy' pose, the silver-haired jounin waved at the cute girl he had found, thanking his luck that the village was full of attractive women. She waved back at him and smiled kindly. It didn't count because it was just a friendly greeting, Kakashi would need to get an honest one out of her.

"Hello, miss. That's a nice dress you have on, it suits you well." Kakashi called.

"Thank you very much." she kindly replied, though her smile faded slightly. "Do you need something, sir?"

"It's nothing important, really. I was just noticing what a lovely day it was and began to take note of the other pretty things out today." Kakashi continued. He was setting up what he hoped was the perfect homerun hit.

"The garden is wonderful this time of day…" the girl responded carefully as she pointed a dainty finger towards the Eternal Flame Public Garden, "You and your friend should go there." Evidently she knew how to deal with pick-up lines, which was to be expected from such a cute girl.

"Ah, but why settle for second best?" Kakashi returned smoothly, still annoyed that Gai was still standing behind him with his teeth sparkling. "You certainly surpass…"

"I'm sorry, but I have a lot of errands to run. Please, have a nice day." she said with a polite bow before striding off.

Kakashi watched her leave before turning to Gai and staring at him; the jounin had finally moved out of his pose and placed his hands on his hips, grinning. Kakashi couldn't help but feel that his opponent had intentionally stood behind him that way to scare the girl off, sabotaging him with his funky stance. Thought that was a little harsh, Kakashi merely stated, "Well, it's your turn I guess."

"Ok. This time I'll put a little more effort into it!" Gai cried powerfully as he jabbed himself with his thumb, "No girl can resist the burning youth that is Maito Gai!"

"Yeah." Kakashi muttered slowly before using a Kawarimi no jutsu without seals, replacing with nothing to give the effect of having vanished into thin air. 'Seriously, if he uses more effort than his last try, they'll be calling the ANBU on him for sure.' the silver-haired ninja thought to himself, once again behind the billboard advertising his favorite book series. 'Well, I should start on my next plan; we might be at this for a while…'

Down in the streets of Konoha, Gai had summoned a shadow clone and had it henge into what looked like a seedy teenager with an orange Mohawk, tattoos on his arms and body-piercing in random places. He commanded his gang-banger to find the next target and steal her purse so that he could defeat the clone and bring the stolen possession back to the grateful woman.

Gai hid himself on the second floor of an apartment building, scanning the crowd for his clone. It didn't take him long before he spotted his thug casually advancing towards a total babe with a red leather purse. The jounin grinned and dashed out of his cover to get closer to the scene of the crime. Like an expert purse-snatcher, the black leather swathed punk darted forward and deftly plucked the woman's leather bag from her arm and tore off down the street,

Acting quickly, Gai popped out of hiding and pointed at the woman before shouting, "I'll stop…" Before he could finish the woman scoffed and vanished, dashing through the street with such speed that she couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Seeming to materialize in front of Gai's henge cloaked clone, she performed a graceful spin kick and brought her high-heel down on his neck. The clone burst from the solid blow as the woman neatly caught her purse out of the air and returned it to her shoulder. "…him…" Gai muttered slowly, still pointing where the babe had been a second ago.

"And I was off duty today, too." the kunoichi moaned to herself. She shook her head at Gai before turning and continuing on her way.

Leaning against a wall just ahead of him, Kakashi glanced towards Gai and announced that it was his turn. "I hope you have your choice of pink picked out, because I don't intend to lose."

- Shodai Memorial Park -

Naruto sighed as he dropped another bag of curry flavored chips into his garbage sack. He'd never imagined that a ninja mission would be this unimportant, let alone as mind-numbingly boring! He'd only managed to fill the bottom of his bag, but off in the distance he could see Neji hoisting a nearly-full sack. His Byakugan allowed him to spot the bits of litter so much easier than those with normal eyes. It wasn't fair!

It was then that he got a wicked idea; he was going to kick Neji's ass and take _his_ litter for his own!

Casually, the blonde whistled as he made his way towards an abandoned sock within range of the genius. After dropping the pink cloth into his bag, he glanced up at Neji and grinned; the boy one year his senior had his back turned. Naruto felt this was his chance, so he unceremoniously dropped his bag and made a mad dash towards Neji, pulling his hand back to deliver a powerful blow to the back of Neji's head.

In the blink of an eye, the Hyuuga whipped around and threw out his leg, catching Naruto in the stomach. With a pained groan, Naruto crumpled to the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" Neji demanded, glaring coldly at the blonde.

After a spasm of coughing, Naruto growled at his teammate, "There's no one around to see me tear you up and take your trash bag. It's not fair that you're so good at these things… you're as bad as Sasuke!"

"No, I'm better than Uchiha Sasuke. And I'm better than you, loser." Neji announced calmly, his voice full of arrogance. He looked down on Naruto in more ways than seeing him on the ground.

"Screw you, Neji!" Naruto swore as he climbed back to his feet. "Stop calling me a loser, you have no idea what I've been through."

"I don't particularly care about your past, Uzumaki. But I will not stop referring to you as a loser, because you will always be one; that is your destiny." Neji's voice became bitter and angry, "Your destiny is chosen at birth and cannot be changed by any man. You will forever be a weak nobody." Naruto glared with pure hatred at Neji, sending back every ounce of coldness he'd ever gotten from the adults of the village. It didn't seem to faze Neji, who simply continued his verbal assault, "A loser like you has no chance of defeating a genius such as myself; you have a better chance of mugging Tenten for her bag of filth. Now go away, trash, I will not lose; even on such a pathetic waste of my talent."

He'd had enough. Naruto roared and surged towards Neji, completely confident that this was his time to prove the jerk wrong. Unfortunately, he was wrong. As he charged, Neji effortlessly performed a 180 degree turn and swung the trash bag he held at Naruto, beaning him in the head. It did no damage at all, but in retrospect, he had just been hit in the head with garbage! That was too much!

As Naruto swore and launched himself at Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy waited for the right moment to finish it in a single hit. It presented itself when Naruto was a step away from him; Neji propped his foot up on Naruto's knee and used it as a stepping stone to bring him on level to perform a strong kick to the loser's chest. Naruto screamed as he flew backwards and rolled to a stop. Landing with his back to the defeated genin, Neji didn't even bother to look over his shoulder as he reminded him, "You cannot change your destiny, loser. No matter what."

Naruto breathed heavily as he forced himself to his feet, watching Neji casually lean down and take a fallen soda can that had spilled out of the blonde's bag. The Hyuuga then continued past, heading towards whatever bit of garbage he found next. "That guy's too strong for me right now." he painfully admitted, though his blood boiled he knew that another assault would do nothing but reinforce his failure. "But he said that Tenten wasn't…"

It didn't take him very long to find the kunoichi. As she worked, Tenten was smiling and singing a ninja nursery rhyme she'd learned from her mother, "Kawarimi is a neat little trick, in a whoosh and a wink you turn to a stick." She giggled at the rhyme before spearing a pink scarf and dumping it into her sack. It was almost as full as Neji's was!

After taking a deep breath, Naruto charged out from behind a statue and shoulder-charged Tenten, throwing her to the ground with a 'Kyaa!' Before she could stand up, Naruto kicked the fallen rapier out of her reach.

"Ow." Tenten groaned as she shook her head and rose to her feet. After dusting herself off, she glared at Naruto, "You realize that I won't forgive you for that, right?"

"I don't care if you're a girl; I'm going to beat you up and take your bag from you!" Naruto exclaimed seriously, shifting into a sloppy fighting stance.

"And when I kick _your_ ass, Naruto, I'm going to take all that you've gathered." Tenten replied with a grin as she dropped her trash bad and lithely glided into a Chinese martial arts stance; more commonly known as Crane style.

With a fierce battle cry, Naruto rushed toward Tenten. When she kicked out at him he caught her foot and pushed back on it, attempting to force her to lose her balance. To counter this, the kunoichi bent her knee, completely absorbing the thrust. Whirling, Tenten pushed back with her left foot before gingerly bouncing into the air and bringing her right foot across Naruto's face. She landed with a chuckle and spun on the ball of her foot, coming to a graceful stop with his arms hooked in front of her. "Your weak fighting style is no match for my Crane style."

Naruto growled as he climbed to his feet and crouched, ready to charge. "That doesn't matter… I'll win through willpower, dattebayo!" With that said, he roared and dashed forward. Naruto pulled his arm back as he ran, aiming to punch Tenten in the face, but to his chagrin she skillfully reached forward and caught his wrist as he threw the punch. As she pulled back on his arm, the cute kunoichi hooked her ankle around his, tripping him and using his own momentum to flip him over onto his back.

"You're too slow, Naruto-kun!" Tenten giggled as she bent her left arm across his throat from behind and clapped her right hand onto her wrist for added leverage. She didn't put enough pressure on him to hurt him, but she did want to make sure that her teammate understood that she was superior to him.

"Damn it!" Naruto scowled, struggling in Tenten's grip. Because he didn't know the proper escape jutsu, the blonde couldn't escape from her headlock.

"Oh calm down, Naruto-kun." Tenten said, chuckling playfully at her captive, "You're too serious; try to relax a little bit! You're still very young, so there's plenty of time for you to beat Neji and me."

Seeming to calm down from her kind tone and relaxed voice, Naruto sighed and asked, "Do you really think so?"

"It's like Gai-sensei says: you're full of youthful energy, Naruto. If you focus that into training rather then blowing up like a bomb, then I'm positive you'll be able to prove Neji wrong and make your dream come true." she replied in an amused tone. "But you've got to stop stealth attacking your own team; that's counterproductive to Konoha's ninja system!" she scolded helpfully.

Naruto looked up into the sky as he thought it over. After about ten seconds he scowled, and exclaimed, "I don't understand things like that! I train like crazy, how come I'm not stronger!?"

Unsure whether she was just being nice or if she really believed what she was about to say, Tenten claimed, "I think you're pretty strong for your age. Just like Neji, you did graduate a year early! You need to listen to what Gai-sensei says, though; he might not seem like a very smart guy at first, but he is a jounin… he might surprise us."

"I'll give him one chance." Naruto grumped before crossing his arms and frowning.

"You'll become stronger in time, Naruto-kun." Tenten said comfortingly, hoping to cheer her teammate up simply because he was her teammate. "Just work at it with youthful energy!" she teased before putting pressure on his collar bone, giving him a friendly hug. It couldn't have been a worse moment, because even as she did a loud voice exploded from behind her.

"What a lovely touching moment, yes! I'm so glad that my students are getting along so well!" Gai screamed loudly as he thrust his thumbs-up towards Naruto and Tenten.

Tenten gave a weak laugh, surprised at how badly he had mistaken the situation. She turned to correct him, but the instant she saw him she gagged and threw her arms to one side, seeming to turn to stone with a shocked look frozen on her face.

"Ack!" Naruto gasped as he fell heavily to the ground, released when Tenten reacted to Gai. Grumbling, he spun as he got to his feet and decided to take a look for himself. "What happen…OH MY GOD!" he bellowed, also turning into white stone and freezing in place.

"As much as you might become confused, I'm not God. I'm Maito Gai, Gai-sensei!" the jounin with the shiny bowl-cut corrected before returning his right hand to his hip and throwing his head back in laughter.

At that moment Neji walked up, bag in hand and a frown on his face. "I was going to ask if we were done here, but now the more pressing question is why the hell are you wearing that?" the white-eyed genin demanded.

Rather than his usual emerald-green leotard, their sensei had shown up wearing a cherry blossom colored one-piece under his chuunin vest and orange arm warmers. "Ah. I lost to my cool rival, Hatake Kakashi, so I'm punishing myself. I won't lose again next time, because my punishment will be extra harsh!" he exclaimed with a round of boisterous laughter.

Finally Naruto thawed so that he could scream, "Why punish yourself!? Isn't that stupid?"

"No, my cute student, this is training." Gai corrected strongly, giving a grin wide enough for his teeth to sparkle in noonday sun. "If you set punishments then you won't want to lose, so you'll work harder and win. Seishun!"

Tenten was shocked back to life by his reply, but rather than speak to her pink sensei, she whispered to Naruto, "Hey, maybe giving him one chance might be a bad idea. I don't think you'd look good in pink…" Naruto nodded in agreement.

"But back to the subject at hand; this mission is complete. Good work, my young students!" Gai stated seriously. Evidently losing to Kakashi had curved some of his enthusiasm and he had calmed down a bit. If only just a bit. "Which one of you managed to collect the most?"

Neji nodded as he informed his teacher, "I collected the largest amount, but Tenten has come in second and Naruto last."

"Ok! Then that means Neji-san gets to learn my secret…" Gai began, but he was cut off by Neji.

"Actually, I'd prefer to focus my attention on the jutsu I'm currently working on." the Hyuuga stated while bowing respectfully. "I'm going to decline your offer, Gai-sensei."

"If that's your decision, then that's ok. Which means it falls to Tenten. My special…"

With a quick glance at Naruto, the kunoichi decided that he needed the most help out of the three of them. "I'm sorry, but I'm also going to decline, Gai-sensei." Tenten replied with a kind smile and a bow.

Gai hung his head in sorrow, suddenly overcome with dolor at having his prized students turn him down twice in a row. He lifted his head halfway and gazed towards Naruto, his eyes streaming manly tears, "How about Naruto?"

The blonde had his arms crossed and a stern look on her face. Just when Gai was about to lose hope, he announced, "I'll give you one chance."

"Aha! Just wait until you see this!" Gai foreshadowed energetically as he reached into the hidden pocket sewn inside his vest. "I picked this up when I went to change my clothes. Look at these, Naruto!" He pulled out a small one-piece and held it out before him reverently, as if it were a treasure.

"What is that, Super-thick-brows?" Naruto wondered as he squinted at the green thing in his teacher's hand.

"This is my secret to success; a child-size leotard, just like mine. It's elastic so that it'll conform to your body without restricting movement and allows your body to breathe properly. If you wear this while training, I guarantee that you'll see improvement!" the jounin explained, before giving a smile and a thumbs-up with his left hand.

Naruto blinked in surprise before becoming excited, "You're kidding! Will this really make me stronger?"

"I promise on my youth that it will, Naruto!" Gai promised seriously, ecstatic that at least one of his cute little students liked it.

"Give it to me, Gai-sensei! I wanna try it on now!" Naruto begged as he reached for the spandex. With it in his hands he began to undress at a furious speed, causing Tenten to gasp and clap her hands over her eyes as she turned her back to him. Neji simply rolled his eyes before closing them. After a few moments, Naruto cheered and punched one of his palms, "Wow, I can already feel the power flowing through me."

"That's just a supplement, not a magical artifact, Naruto." Gai corrected in an amused tone, "But if you wear that to every training session, then power really will flow through you!"

"Alright!" the blonde cried excitedly, far too gullible for his own good.

- Hokage's mission room -

The old man stared blankly at the two oddly dressed members of Team Gai, one in pink spandex, the other with the waistband of his boxers clearly visible through a miniature version of Gai's favorite fashion. He was almost embarrassed to simply be in the same room as the two, a reaction which he was sure Tenten and Neji shared.

"My students did a super job cleaning up the Shodai Memorial Park; mission complete!" Gai announced powerfully as he held the D-rank mission receipt out to the Hokage. He didn't reach out to take it, choosing instead to stare in horror at the eyesore in front of him.

Finally Iruka cleared his throat and claimed that he'd take the document for the time being. With a shrug, Gai handed the paper to Iruka, who in turn handed him the payment for services rendered. D-rank missions paid 18074 yen, and split three ways was rounded to 52 dollars each. It was paltry pay, but D-rank missions were generally free of danger and therefore did not have risk pay.

With their cash in hand, Team Gai left the room, finally allowing the Hokage to animate once again. He slowly turned towards Iruka and gave him a bewildered look.

"Selective amnesia is easier to deal with than trying to figure that man out." the chuunin teacher supplied.

"You have a point." Sandaime muttered softly. "But I think it might be better for Konoha's image if we don't send Team Gai on missions outside of the village for a while…"

- Preview -

Team Gai has a day off so that Gai-sensei can cheer up Lee, his absolute favorite academy student. What will Naruto do with his free time? Look for Sakura, of course!


	3. Cherry Blossoms and Scarecrows

Author's notes: Sorry for the delay… here's the update. A forewarning: this chapter will be a little more serious than the first two chapters, but I have to set up Naruto's future. But that's why this fic is sorted as "general - humor" rather than the reverse. Enjoy, and… Seishuun!

**Chapter 03: Cherry Blossoms and Scarecrows**

- Konoha streets -

As Team Gai left the Hokage tower, still dressed in his questionably pink leotard, Maito Gai had announced that they were done for the day. The jounin flashed a smile at his students before explaining why they were taking a break rather than training, "There's a poor little kid whose youth failed on him when he needed it most. Rock Lee, I'll cheer you up!"

When their sensei was out of sight, Neji blinked once before glancing towards his teammates and said, "Nothing I did today took any effort, so I'm just going to call this day a waste and go home. Don't bother me unless you wish to train."

Tenten smiled as she waved to Neji, "Good luck with your training, Neji. I'll see you tomorrow!" That was their first scheduled training session with Gai-sensei. The Hyuuga grunted in acknowledgment before walking off and vanishing into the streets.

"_Today was a waste. I'm going home._" Naruto said, mocking Neji as he swiveled his hips comically. "What a jerk."

"Remember what I said, Naruto?" Tenten scolded as she prodded him with a finger, "You've got to stop being so serious and learn to relax. Neji is just Neji; he's been like that since our first day in Shizuhara-sensei's class." After giving her lecture, the young kunoichi stood up straight and stretched, feeling the slight soreness that had propagated in her calves from the day's activities. "As for me, I'm going home to take a bath and then read a book. You should also take it easy, Naruto."

"Hai, hai." Naruto murmured in an annoyed tone, still cross at Neji for beating him at everything they had done today.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Tenten said as she gave a polite bow and left.

Naruto crossed his arms, at a loss for what to do now that he was done with his ninja duties for the day. It didn't take him long to decide, "Ah! I'll go find Sakura-chan! But I should take Gai-sensei's special training outfit off now, since I'm not really training." So with a sharp nod, he jogged home, too excited by the thought of seeing Sakura to retard his energy.

- Eternal Flame Garden -

Naruto found Sakura sitting on a garden bench reading a scroll and looking frustrated, so he greeted her in hopes of cheering her up. "Hi, Sakura-chan! What are you doing?"

"Eh? Uzumaki Naruto?" Sakura wondered softly, looking up at the blonde in surprise and confusion. Because they were still so young, Naruto hadn't gotten around to hounding her just yet, so after a moment she gave him a polite smile before answering, "I'm trying to learn the bunshin no jutsu, but I'm having a little trouble."

"The clone technique? I can show you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, "I was practicing last night in preparation for today, so check out how good I got at it!" Sakura raised a pink eyebrow as she watched Naruto perform the hand seals and scrunch his face in concentration. After reciting the name of the jutsu to activate it, Naruto threw his arms out as ten illusions of him erupted into being.

"Sugoi…" Sakura breathed in awe. The bunshin no jutsu, though it was academy level skill, was at graduation level and therefore was one of the toughest skills to perform. She had spent hours reading from scrolls and still failed to produce a single realistic clone, and here the boy with the lowest grades in the class had created ten perfect replicas.

"I'll teach you how…" Naruto began as all of his illusions released, but he was interrupted when a young girl jogged up to the pair and paused to catch her breath.

"Ano… nii-san to nee-san…" she panted in a small voice, "We're playing tag and Yoshi-kun wanted to know if nii-san and nee-san would join us." It was common practice in Konoha to refer to strangers as your brother or sister.

Sakura tilted her head in thought before deciding, "I've been studying for long enough. Come on, Naruto, let's go play!"

"Yoshaa!" Naruto cried as he leapt into the air, overjoyed that Sakura was being nice to him.

- Later -

Playing with Sakura was more fun than Naruto had ever thought possible; perhaps it was because he had never been welcome to play with anyone before. But he knew for a fact that today was the best day he'd ever had. But it unfortunately had to come to an end when the children's curfew arrived.

Even Sakura announced that she had to return home lest her parents worry. It was then that Naruto noticed the large amount of scrolls piled on the bench beside where the young girl had been sitting. So to stay with her longer, he ran up to Sakura as she packed her scrolls into a carrying bag and offered, "I'm strong, so I'll carry Sakura-chan's bag!"

"I don't need help, Naruto." Sakura replied, feeling that if she was going to be a kunoichi she couldn't show weakness. But upon seeing his crestfallen face, she sighed inwardly and offered, "But maybe you can tell me what it's like to be a ninja while we walk home?"

Perking right up, Naruto grinned and adjusted his forehead protector, "I'll tell you all about how I beat some jerk named Neji at every turn!" he exclaimed, lying to make himself seem better.

"Are you lying to me, Naruto?" Sakura scolded as she lifted the heavy sack and passed the strap over her head. "I don't think that anyone can beat another ninja at every turn. Unless it's Sasuke doing it, that is." she corrected. "Oh, and speaking of Sasuke…" Sakura began as the two children walked under the entrance arch to the garden, "Weren't you going to show me how to do the bunshin no jutsu?"

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke… all I ever hear is Sasuke!" Naruto grumbled loudly, crossing his arms sourly. "I'm the one that graduated, not him. Why can't Sakura-chan think about me for once?"

"Why would I want to think about you?" Sakura grunted, giving Naruto a small frown. "Sasuke is just stronger, smarter and cuter than you, Naruto." she answered, not aware of how rude and hurtful she sounded. "Just face the music, Naruto; I'm never going to give up until I've won Sasuke-kun's heart."

"Fine! I'll just fight back with all of my energy!" Naruto vowed to himself, holding his fist into the air, "I won't rest until I've proven myself to Sakura-chan and won her heart!"

"Naruto, please don't." Sakura begged softly, shaking her head. "I promised Ino that I would fight forever until I get Sasuke. More importantly, I promised myself that I would. You're just wasting your energy." she finished strongly.

"But, Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined, though it was to no avail. She had sped up and left him behind to pick up the broken pieces of his heart all alone. As he watched the girl with the long pink hair stride off down the empty street, Naruto clenched his fists and growled, making a silent pact. "Forget Sakura; if she wants to chase after that loser Sasuke, let her! I'm a real ninja now, so I should start acting like one. First thing tomorrow I'm going to start working my ass off to beat Tenten, and then Neji and Gai-sensei. I'm going to be Hokage for sure!" So with that thought playing in his head, he took off at a run, shot past Sakura and ran as fast as he could towards training area 12; he was going to train until the sun came up.

- One month later -

Gai cheered to the heavens as waves crashed against the rocks of his mind. Dramatically he thrust his right thumb out at Kakashi and let his teeth sparkle, "Ha! Scissors beats paper! You played a good game, as expected of my rival!"

"…yeah." Kakashi muttered, blinking in shame. They were in the middle of a packed street and were the center of attention, mostly due to Gai's spastic announcement that an epic battle was going to take place to decide the fate of the world. "That's 36 wins in your favor."

"But let's get down to the real reason why I sought you out, Kakashi." Gai announced powerfully, "I want to take Neji out into the wilderness for some super-advanced survival training that Naruto and Tenten aren't ready for yet. So I'm asking if you'd train my other students for the week that we'll be away."

"What do I get out of it?" Kakashi wondered, blinking his visible right eye. "And I'm going to refuse flat-out if you say '_youth'_ even once."

"This is the future of Konoha, Kakashi." Gai said sternly, suddenly losing all of his quirky childish mannerisms. For once he looked completely serious as he glanced towards the Hokage Mountain and asked, "You know about Uzumaki Naruto's special rule, am I right?" He didn't receive an answer, but Gai took this to be evidence of Kakashi's usual silent agreements. "The Yondaime Hokage was your sensei, so how do you think he'd react to you ignoring his wishes?" There still wasn't a reply, so Gai tried one last time, "That boy reminds me of Uchiha Obito, you know?"

Finally Gai turned to look Kakashi in the eye, but leaned forward and let his jaw drop open at the thing that had taken Kakashi's place. Dressed like the jounin, complete with a mask and slanted straw, stood a scarecrow with a bored-looking eye painted on the right side. "You lazy bum, I've lost respect for you, Kakashi." Gai scoffed. He was about to leave when an idea struck him.

- Behind the Icha Icha billboard -

Kakashi crouched in the shade, completely hidden from the rest of Konoha. He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling guilty for having ditched his childhood friend because he hadn't wanted to be pulled into some meaningless contest to see who could teach some high-level jutsu to the students first. But Gai's points had been valid and potent; it was important to help the future ninjas of Konoha in any way that they could, just as it was wrong to ignore his sensei's final wishes. But it had been the Obito reference that had struck the deepest. "What would Obito-kun say if he saw me acting like this, huh? He'd call me worse than trash, wouldn't he?"

- Training area 7 -

Kakashi very calmly landed on the lowest branch of one of the millions of trees that hid Konoha from view. After visiting Obito's name on the memorial stone and holding a one-sided conversation out of respect, the jounin had decided that he had been selfish when he ditched Gai in the streets. So, almost an hour later, the silver-haired genius arrived to do his part in strengthening Konoha's future.

He hadn't expected anything, to tell the truth. Maybe two little children sleeping in the grass because their sensei wasn't around… but what he saw took him by surprise. Not only were Tenten and Naruto training as hard as ever, but Gai had managed to get Kakashi to help out after all; the scarecrow was tied to a tree branch and had a number of kunai sticking out of it. Kakashi was target practice!

Down in the practice grounds, Tenten performed a graceful spin and released her grip on two kunai; they both hit the scarecrow in the arms and sunk into the straw. "It seems two is the most I can do for now."

"Tenten is still great!" Naruto admitted with a sharp double nod and an impressed frown. "Mm, mm."

"It's not bad, but I can do better than this. I know it." Tenten announced as she strode forward, toward the scarecrow. She retrieved her kunai and backed out of the way. Standing off to the left she nodded towards Naruto, urging him to take his turn.

The blonde pulled back his arm to throw, but paused. A wicked idea had crossed his sly mind and it made him grin from ear to ear, though Kakashi couldn't see it from his angle. "Ne, ne, Tenten!" Naruto called mischievously. When he had her attention he called, "Watch this!" He threw three kunai, one after the other, at the scarecrow; each one of them struck the Kakashi scarecrow in the crotch.

In reply, Tenten doubled over with laughter, pointing at the scarecrow and holding her stomach in the same motion. She giggled so furiously that she had to shut her eyes to get the full impact of her giddiness.

Feeling full of himself, Naruto had one hand on his hip and the other rubbing the bottom of his nose as he grinned and chuckled. "But you know… if this guy is so scared that he won't come here in person then maybe he'd be immune to that attack."

"Are you saying that…?" Tenten said, giggling in full force as she looked towards Naruto, "that he doesn't have any genitals?"

"He couldn't stand the thought of facing the mighty Uzumaki Naruto and deadly Tenten so he turned tail and hid under his bed!" Naruto called before pounding on his chest once.

"That was uncalled for…" an adult said in a cold voice that was almost a whisper as he seemed to materialize out of the air behind Naruto.

Not recognizing the voice, the kunoichi looked up towards Naruto and gawked. "Kyaa! Naruto, look behind you!" Tenten gasped suddenly, covering her mouth with both hands.

Naruto felt ice enter his veins all of the sudden as a shadow enveloped his tiny body. Slowly he turned to face the man that had appeared behind him, his face going from surprised to angry. When he was facing the tall jounin, who was twice his size, Naruto pointed at him and exclaimed, "You think you're so scary, but I'm not afraid of an old man like you!"

"Calm down, Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi stated evenly, not sure if he should be impressed with his bravery in the face of murderous intent or unimpressed with his childish antics. "I'm a little late, but Gai-sensei asked me to help you both train."

By this time Tenten had trotted up and given a deep bow greeting him with, "You must be Hatake Kakashi, Gai-sensei's rival. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kakashi-san."

"Same here." Kakashi replied quickly. "Before we begin, please tell me about yourselves; such as what are your goals and what kind of ninjas do you wish to become."

"Yo, me first!" Naruto called as he crossed his arms, still right in Kakashi's face. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage of Konoha. I don't understand what you mean by what kind of ninja I want to be, but I'm going to be the strongest ninja ever. _Ever_."

"Hokage? That takes a considerable amount of work and many hardships along the way. Do you think you can handle that? Why would you want to undertake such a path?" Kakashi wondered, secretly testing Naruto's reasons.

"Everyone looks at me with cold eyes... either that or they don't see me at all. I have no family at all, and I've been alone for my entire life." Naruto admitted with a shaky voice, suddenly overcome with emotion. He paused before continuing, "Everywhere I look someone is telling me that I'm weak or stupid; that I'll never amount to anything. That's why I want to prove them all wrong. I want to become the strongest ninja in all of Konoha, the strongest the world has ever seen." Tenten breathed his name sadly, never having heard a whisper of his harsh past.

"So you can kill everyone for revenge? Do you want so much power so that you can destroy Konoha?" Kakashi demanded, looking Naruto in the eyes with his one eye.

"Don't be so stupid, old man. How can they recognize my strength if everyone's dead? They can't is how!" Naruto growled seriously, feeling the familiar tingling sensation growing from his stomach. 'Why is _it_ so hot this time?' he wondered inwardly. "I want to be someone that they can acknowledge and say my name with pride and warmth; the best Hokage of all."

"I see." Kakashi said in an amused tone, surprised by the strange way a boy in his situation would grow in. "Now Tenten, please."

Unnerved by the interrogation, Tenten answered after taking a steadying breath, "My name is Tenten, and I plan to become a great kunoichi like Tsunade-sama. I'm a martial artist that summons various weapons to suit my needs."

"Ok, then. Now, so that I can determine the best training practices, I'd like the two of you to attack me. I want you to come at me as if you were going to kill me, so go ahead and use your shuriken and kunai." Kakashi announced enigmatically, looking down at the tiny children with his one eye.

"If you say so." Naruto muttered as he pulled out a kunai. A second later he lunged, aiming for Kakashi's crotch, which because of Naruto's small size was right on eye-level. He'd practiced on dummies for years, how different could it be in real life, right?

Kakashi's left hand appeared instantly on Naruto's wrist, stopping it with ease. The jounin then flattened his right hand and chopped down at Naruto's neck, aiming for a painful pressure point. In a fluid motion, Tenten ducked under his left arm and slapped it to break his hold on Naruto, though this also forced Naruto to drop his kunai. Directly following this she turned to her right, quickly putting her right forearm into the path of Kakashi's attack. As soon as he struck her arm she continued her spin and grabbed Naruto before leaping away with him.

"This man is a jounin, so he's one of the top ninjas in the village; we can't defeat him alone." Tenten whispered as she shifted into a martial arts stance. "We'll have to work together, Naruto-kun."

"I'll trust you, Tenten. But what do we do?" Naruto replied as he reached into his shuriken pouch and collected five ninja stars.

"You're a boy, so your body is better designed for close-combat; I'm really good with ranged combat. So you go in with Taijutsu and attack him, but rather than trying to hit him, you should try to force him to show an opening. I'll hit him then."

"Let's kick his ass, Tenten!" Naruto cried as he threw out his arms, pelting Kakashi with them. The jounin had waited patiently in place for the genin to form their plan, but when Naruto initiated battle, he flicked his foot and sent the fallen kunai towards Naruto to deflect them. The genius had used an ingenious technique where the kunai would hit the middle shuriken and then reflect to the side, sending the shuriken in the opposite direction; they would domino until all five were turned away.

Nonplused, Naruto formed a seal and summoned six illusory clones, planning to use them as decoys so that he could get close enough to do Taijutsu. It worked; the fake Narutos laughed and yelled while waving their arms to attract Kakashi's one-eyed attention; using this window, the real blonde made it up to the adult and laid a punch to his crotch. "Itte!" Naruto cried as he stumbled backwards, holding his reddened hand with his other; his clones dispersed when he lost focus. Kakashi had turned into a log an instant before the boy's hand crashed into the sensitive spot.

"It's Kawarimi no jutsu!" Tenten called out, recognizing the skill. "Hold on a second, Naruto." the kunoichi urged as she slid her left thumb along the sharp edge of the kunai she had been planning to throw. She then put the weapon away to withdraw a summoning scroll from one of her pouches. As she unrolled the scroll and dragged her bloody thumbs along the inside, she called out to the weapon she wanted to summon. In a cloud of smoke, a five foot long wooden staff appeared. In one smooth motion, Tenten caught the weapon out of the air with one hand and returned the scroll to her pouch with the other.

At her call, Naruto backed up to Tenten, keeping an eye out for Kakashi while protecting her at the same time. "How the hell are you going to throw that at him? He'll catch it for sure!"

"No, dummy; it's for you!" Tenten corrected before pushing the staff at Naruto. "If you use this you don't have to worry about hurting your hand and you don't need to get so close to him; his arms are longer than yours so he has an advantage." she explained quickly, proving her high analytical and problem solving ability.

"Good idea!" Naruto cheered as he took the wooden weapon from his teammate. "Let's kick his ass for real this time! We don't even need Neji!"

"Come over here and prove it, then." Kakashi called, leaning against the scarecrow that had been tied to a tree.

"Here I come, old man!" Naruto bellowed as he charged. Thankfully he had watched Tenten using the staff against Neji, so he had a rudimentary understanding of how to use it, though it was very basic at best. As he ran, the blonde dipped the tip and dug in into the ground, using it to get extra air and power. Taken by surprise by the sudden strong attack, Kakashi threw himself out of the boy's path rather than attempt to play it cool. The moment Naruto landed he swung the long end at the jounin's hip.

While this was happening, Tenten slit her thumb on the same kunai she had used for her other thumb. Ambidextrously, she stuck the kunai back into its holster while retrieving a different scroll at the same time. When she used the summoning contract, she got three throwing axes. "Ok, Naruto-kun… just keep him busy long enough for me to get a good shot in. If I can clip his shoulder or hip then maybe we'll win." She carefully slithered to one side and ducked behind a tree for protection in case Kakashi got away from Naruto and charged her.

Kakashi saw the slow swing coming from a mile away and very easily hopped backwards to avoid it. Naruto followed through so that he could catch the end of the staff with his left hand, and sliding his right hand down to meet his left, he swung the new end of the staff at Kakashi's lower ribs. He blocked the attack with his forearm; his hardened muscle painlessly absorbed the attack.

Tenten tensed to throw one of her axes, but stopped when Kakashi's eyes flicked up to her, detecting the tiny movement even from so far away. "I should move and hide; unseen attacks are at the core of the shinobi arsenal." she whispered before slipping off into the bushes, positive that Naruto could hold his own for a moment.

The blonde pulled the end of the staff away from Kakashi's arm and jabbed it at his lower abdomen. As expected, Kakashi threw his right arm out to block the attack, so Naruto quickly moved his right hand further up the staff and pulled back on it, bringing the bottom up at Kakashi's crotch at high speed!

Kakashi was an instant from jumping backwards to avoid the painful attack, but at the very last millisecond he heard a projectile slicing through the air towards his right shoulder; Tenten had thrown it at his blind-spot when she saw that Naruto had him worried about being hit in the scrotum. The jounin, for a single second, stopped holding back and jumped into the air. The staff struck his left knee as he spun and kicked Naruto with his right shin, throwing him sharply to the side. As he did this, the axe whispered past his collar bone before sinking halfway into the tree to his right, the one with the scarecrow attached to it.

Tenten winced as Naruto landed on the ground with a cry and rolled to a stop. She then returned her attention to where Kakashi was, but startled when she saw that he wasn't there anymore. Suddenly she detected a presence behind her, so she tightened her grip on both of the throwing axes and whipped around, swinging them randomly at Kakashi.

**Thunk**,** thunk**! Both axes bit into the wooden staff that she had given to Naruto, now held deftly by Kakashi; she hadn't even seen him take it. The jounin's eye became a crescent, evidence of his smile hidden under his mask, "Take it easy, we're done now."

"Oh, sorry." Tenten apologized with a smile before yanking her throwing axes out of the staff and sliding them into her belt. She also accepted the staff, holding it in her hand like a walking stick; she'd reseal them when they were done.

Off in the distance, Naruto screamed as he jumped to his feet, "You didn't have to kick me that hard, temee!"

Kakashi smiled at Naruto and called out, "…yeah, my bad." Naruto's response was a raised fist.

"Thank you for the fight, Kakashi-san." Tenten stated with a bow, "How did Naruto-kun and I do?"

"This wasn't that kind of fight; but I did get the information that I needed." Kakashi admitted. Tenten raised an eyebrow, not seeing Naruto as he slipped into the bushes, stalking up behind Kakashi. The jounin continued, "You're an analytical type with medium to long range attacks. As for Naruto…"

"Kancho!" Naruto shouted as he roughly jabbed forward with his fingers. Kakashi went rigid when he felt himself being violated; he had never considered Naruto to be the sneaking type, so when he didn't hear him he had assumed that the blonde was standing off to the side sulking.

"Naruto!" Tenten gasped in shock as Kakashi reached around behind him and roughly set Naruto down in front of him, keeping a hand firmly on the boy's shoulder to keep him from trying anything else.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "As I was saying. Naruto is an impulsive type with skill in close combat melee weapons. My suggestion is for Tenten to teach Naruto to use some sort of small and fast hand-to-hand weapon."

"Eh? A fast melee weapon?" Tenten wondered. Putting her analytical mind to work, she began to visualize different situations and which weapon would suit it best. Finally she exclaimed, "I know! How about these…?" She went into her pouch again and spread her bleeding thumb along the symbol, calling out to her weapons stash. Once again she closed the scroll and put it away with her left hand as she caught her summons with her right.

"A pair of sai." Kakashi identified the weapons quickly. He put his own massively analytical and experience mind to the task. "Naruto can subdue a victim by catching their weapon or hand in the tines so that Tenten can unleash with her ranged attacks easier."

"Why should I use weapons? I can punch the shi…"

"Ninja should be more versatile than just punching their enemies out." Tenten lectured sternly, fully supporting Kakashi's suggestion. "Besides, Neji uses Juuken, so if you punch his hand you'll get hurt. But if you use these, then you can…"

"They'll help me against Neji!? Why the hell didn't you say so? Give them to me!" Naruto demanded ecstatically, reaching for the weapons.

"I'll let you borrow them until you buy your own, ok?" Tenten prompted as she held the weapons out to Naruto.

Throughout this Kakashi had removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder and had begun walking away when he called out over his shoulder, "By the way Naruto... about that sneak attack? Remember to watch your back, because I know where you sleep."

"_Watch your back, because I know where you sleep_…" Naruto mocked as he pulled his forehead protector over his right eye to emulate Kakashi.

"Naruto…" Tenten sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. She offered a kind smile before suggesting that they begin training; it was obvious that Kakashi wouldn't be coming back.

- One week later -

It was a misty and somber morning in Konohagakure when the more social women of the village were gathered in the women's public bath. Steam floated lazily in the air, the peaceful silence disturbed now again by a cute giggle or a splash as the girls gossiped, bathed and simply relaxed in the warm water.

"Ecchi-nin Hatake Kakashi appears!" a man called in a deep voice as he hopped into the bath through the open top.

"Kyaa! A pervert!" the women screamed, hastily covering themselves and throwing soap, buckets or anything else they could get their hands on.

As he skillfully dodged all of the projectiles, Kakashi's eye shone with a glimmer before winking at the nearest girl, causing her to shriek and duck under water. "You don't have to worry, girls, because I know where you sleep." he mentioned as he gave a thumbs-up.

"Like hell you do!" a blond preteen screamed as she came in for a dropkick and smashed her foot into his face. In a poof of smoke, Kakashi was revealed to be Naruto in reality; he had performed a henge to ruin Kakashi's reputation as a prank. "Naruto!" Ino growled, fire seeming to billow from her eyes, "You… damned…" she screamed, accentuating each word with a punch, "stupid… perverted… little… creep!" With a small 'kyaa', Ino was dragged off of Naruto by a female chuunin while her brown-haired partner crouched over the dazed boy, stunned from the brutal assault.

After picking him up, both women left the bath, carting Naruto as they did. When they got to an enclosed room, they set him down in a chair and tied him up. "We have strict rules against peeking on the girls here, but they don't include physical violence." the chuunin that had pulled Ino away mentioned.

"We're sorry for not getting here sooner, but you really shouldn't sneak into the girl's bath, little boy. It's a rule that we have to punish you."

Naruto scoffed and leaned his head back, "You think that scares me? Get a life."

Letting out a heavy sigh, the brown-haired woman took out a kunai and showed it to Naruto before saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cut your eyes out."

"Isn't that going a little too far!?" the first chuunin exclaimed, taking a worried step forward. "It was just a boyish prank; you don't need to mutilate him!"

Naruto thrashed in his bounds before screaming, "You think you can take the mighty Uzumaki Naruto? Just try it! I'll get out of this and kick your ass so hard you'll…!"

"I don't care if it was a prank or not. They always start small; maybe he was peeking today, but tomorrow he'll cop a feel. I hate to think what he might try next week… I can't risk it. He'll have to be taught a lesson." the brown-haired woman announced as she raised the kunai into the air.

"Don't do it!" the first chuunin cried as the weapon come down on Naruto, who was too busy struggling with the knot in the ropes to yell anything, much less dodge. **Shing**! The kunai sliced through the rope binding Naruto to the chair and he was pulled to his feet as both chuunin smiled at him.

"That was our '_good chuunin, bad chuunin_' ploy, Uzumaki." the 'bad' chuunin explained as she returned her kunai to a holster on her thigh.

"A prank for a prank, huh?" the 'good' chuunin chuckled. "We're going to let you off this time, Uzumaki; but don't try it again or we won't be so forgiving."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Naruto grumped as he was led to the exit and shoved out into the street.

"If you're done playing around, we should get to the training, Naruto-kun." Tenten called from her perch atop a billboard across the street. "Come on, Neji's supposed to be back later today and I want to show him how far we've come!"

"That dumb old man is always late anyway. We have an hour before he'll even show up." Naruto grumped, crossing his arms as Tenten leaped down in stages, landing neatly in front of him.

"You're a cute little kid, but you have a hidden strength, you know that?" she mentioned as she wrapped her arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Let's go train; if not for Kakashi or Gai, but for me, huh? I want to be strong, just like you do." Even as she spoke Tenten began to lead Naruto towards training grounds 12; their favorite spot.

"Why do you treat me like a kid?" Naruto grumbled as he knocked Tenten's arm off of him. "I don't need your pity."

"You're mistaken, Naruto-kun." Tenten said with a giggle as she wrapped her right arm around his shoulders again, "I'm don't pity you at all. I like Naruto-kun; you're my friend."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto said, his voice taking on a strong edge as he regained his determination. "I want to be strong for myself, not for that white-haired punk! But that's not all!"

"There's more?" Tenten prompted with a kind smile. Ever since she'd heard his sad past, Tenten had made a vow to be nice to Naruto. She didn't need to remind herself as often now that they had become friends.

"Yeah! I want to become strong with Tenten-chan because we're best friends with the same goal!" Naruto cried, jumping energetically in the street. Unfortunately, he was becoming more and more like Gai-sensei; though he hadn't seen him in a week, the man's spastic nature had made an impression on Naruto.

Tenten picked up on this fact and gave the thumbs-up and a grin, letting her teeth sparkle in the sun in her best Gai-sensei impression, "We're in the springtime of our youth, Naruto-kun! Let's explode!" With a laugh she released her friend and took off at a run, challenging him to a race.

"I won't lose!" Naruto cried as he swerved around Kiba, who had just walked out of a pet shop holding dog food, and carelessly knocked him down. The Inuzuka yelled and waved his fist at Naruto's back, but he was ignored.

- Preview -

Naruto and Tenten manage to impress Gai, who in his excitement announces that their next mission will not be a boring D-rank. Next chapter, Team Gai heads to Wind country for their very first C-rank mission!


	4. Sand and Shadows

I feel I should answer my reviews here rather than using a personal message; this way it'll be broadcasted to all of my readers.

**Shifty**: Yes, I did like your suggestion to give him small weapons, it was an ingenious idea!

**Crimson-Genius**: Naruto's level of skill is kind of hard for me to explain. You see, I completely disagree with Masashi Kishimoto making 15 year olds have such obscene power. So I was planning on toning it down just a bit. Naruto will indeed be a powerful fighter, mostly due to his innate Kyuubi regeneration and stamina powers, and Gai's more hands-on approach to training. He will use a mixture of nature manipulation Ninjutsu and weapon-assisted Taijutsu, putting him one step ahead of the other genin, considering he's working his ass off to beat Neji and everything.

**Allahee4life**: Crane style was in DB/DBZ? I wasn't aware, heheh. I guess I was a little harsh about the crossover, but I personally feel that it hurts the immersion having foreign concepts introduced into the Naruto world. It's just a personal thing, really. Now, Naruto will learn the Kage bunshin, seeing as it's a defining aspect of his character, but not at 12 years old and definitely not at 11! That Shadow clone is a B-rank jutsu according to the Wikipidia entry for the skill, which is a high chuunin/low jounin level ability; meaning that Naruto will learn it around 14 to 15 years old. I'm sure that he won't learn the Rasengan, though; instead I have a cool jutsu cooked up for him instead.

Boy, pairings seem to be very, very popular, don't they? Once again, I haven't planned if Naruto will get a girlfriend or who it will be and I don't intend to until he's of proper age for it, which in my mind is 15 and older. Either way, I'm sick of Naruto-Sakura or Hinata-Naruto couplings; so when I do finally get to that, it'll be one of the other girls. Then again, Neji's team is a part of a rookie nine, so there are two other teams with a kunoichi as well, so it's possible that I could make a Naruto-OC pairing. But that's not until later, so I have some time to consider my options.

**Ito Gokai**: (Changed my penname to Vorderic-sensei.) It wasn't brought up, but Naruto will not wear Gai's spandex forever. By the end of the Shippuuden (which I'm not sure if I'll skip to after the Sand/Sound attack or not) he will change his outfit. Most likely to a variant of the fox-look that I'm sure Masashi Kishimoto set up for him, though not the outfit he wears in the manga/anime.

**Chapter 04: Sand and Shadows**

- Training area 12 -

Team Gai stood on the wooden logs that made up the swirling Konoha leaf pounded into the lake of the training grounds. Gai had challenged Kakashi to see who's trained his students the best, so Neji was pitted against both Tenten and Naruto in a battle to knock the other(s) into the water.

Naruto was wearing his green leotard as usual, complete with orange leg warmers, arm wrappings and red sash. He adjusted the forehead protector on his head as he grinned at Neji, who had just mentioned that Naruto was surprisingly skilled with the pair of sai he had trained with. "I told you, didn't I? I'm going to be Hokage, so it makes sense that I've become this strong so fast!"

Neji, with his arms crossed and his body at rest shook his head and arrogantly shut his eyes, "You have indeed gotten stronger, but you're still on the second-rate loser level that it was last week. You seem to be the guy that needs to be reminded many times, so I'll repeat myself, Uzumaki Naruto; you were born a loser, you're still a loser and you'll forever be…" he opened his eyes and turned his back on his teammates before finishing, "a loser. All men must live out the destiny chosen for them the moment they are born."

"I'm really sick of hearing that, temee!" Naruto growled hotly, "You're like a broken record; get something new to say!"

"Not until you've beaten me, even at one of Gai-sensei's unusual competitions. When you've proven to me that you can break your losing streak, then I'll consider a new phrase."

"Oh, I've got a phrase for you, you…" Naruto began to shout, but Tenten shushed him as he came up from behind.

"Don't let him distract you, Naruto-kun!" the wise kunoichi whispered behind a cupped hand, standing on the same log as her partner, "He's using words to enrage you so that you'll mess up." She still wore her pink sleeveless blouse and deep blue pants with her hair up in twin buns; she also had several ranged weapons stuck in her sash; ready to be used when the opportunity arose.

"Then what do we do to beat him?" he returned quietly, still glaring at Neji. Like Tenten, he hadn't altered his outfit at all; his one change was a new cut along his cheek, courtesy of Naruto's distracting him from Tenten's well-aimed kunai.

"See if you can turn him to the side. From there I'll wrap a kusarigama around his ankles and trip him into the water. Just try not to get hit too often; he won't kill us, but if he closes all of your tenketsu we're doomed!" Tenten ordered softly. When Naruto nodded in agreement, she hopped backwards, landing neatly on a different log and dipping her hand into a pouch.

"I have something to say about all of your destiny stuff, Neji!" Naruto shouted as he pointed at the genius with his right sai. "Maybe I agree with everything that you're saying; you can't go against your destiny, right?"

"It's not like you to suddenly change your mind like that, Naruto." Neji mentioned calmly, "If you're trying to reverse our roles and attempt to enrage me, you're only fooling yourself."

"That's not it at all…" Naruto stated, feeling the now familiar tingling in his stomach rising up his chest. "You're right that it cannot be changed, but you never said who gets to choose the fate." He shifted into a combat-ready stance and let the hot energy flow through him, grinning at Neji's surprised look. "I've lived by myself and for myself my entire life, so the master of my destiny is me, god damn it! And I say that my destiny is to become stronger than all of the Hokage combined, so it will happen!"

Tenten sighed in exasperation, noting that Naruto had become affected by Neji's words despite her efforts. Down on the shore, Gai and Kakashi also shared a groan, knowing that Naruto had a long way to go before he could be called a ninja.

Neji, however, was staring wide-eyed at Naruto. He had his Byakugan active and therefore could see first hand the tainted and burning chakra exploding through his opponent. He had no idea that it was an awakening demon; his only concern was that it was coming from a natural born loser. Therefore he had to be put in his place. "Koi, Super-blonde-brat."

"I will, then!" Naruto roared as he jumped from one log to another, quickly closing the gap between him and the Hyuuga. He made one final leap and thrust his sai towards Neji's chest, but he never hit.

With a smug grin, Neji spun once and released a quick blast of chakra from his entire body. Not only was his chakra still maturing but he was still perfecting his Kaiten, so he could only do short bursts. Using this small window of opportunity, Neji reached forward and slapped Naruto on the ankle as he flew back. Ignoring the blonde for the moment, he darted right for Tenten.

"Oh, no!" Tenten breathed upon seeing the combat genius running right for her. Gritting her teeth, the kunoichi reached into her belt and released a handful of whatever random weapons she managed to grab. To her horror, Neji caught two of the kunai out of the air. She panicked and threw herself to the side, landing neatly on a different log before crying out, "Help me, Naruto-kun!"

By this time Naruto had finished his flip and landed heavily on his right foot. He had planned to make a mad dash for Neji, but pain rocketed up his leg for reasons unexplained and he winced. "Kuso!"

Neji crossed his arms before flinging them out and tossing both kunai slowly at Tenten's chest, knowing that she'd be able to dodge them. To counter, the kunoichi copied Naruto's idea to back flip and watched them belt past her face before she landed neatly on a different log. She was glad that she and Naruto had practiced on them long enough to learn through muscle memory where the different stumps were. Unfortunately she had been too distracted by the kunai and hadn't seen Neji coming up in a curve, following the edge of the swirl part of the Konoha symbol. When he made it to her, he grabbed her arm and performed the spin he was perfecting for the Kaiten.

"Kyaa!" Tenten cried as she was lifted off of her feet and tossed away from the logs. She braced for impact just as she struck the surface of the water.

"Tenten!" Naruto called in surprise before getting up and rushing Neji, ignoring the sharp pain in his ankle. Instead of performing a complicated Taijutsu move or a flashy jutsu, Neji reached into a pouch and tossed something at the snarling eleven year old. Naruto growled and sliced at whatever Neji had thrown, but to his surprise the thing exploded in his face, filling the area with smoke. He barely managed to land on the very edge of a log.

"Make it easy on yourself and jump in on your own." Neji called from within the smoke, cheating by using his Byakugan to pierce through the cloud. "You have no chance against me, Naruto; you may have improved, but I have as well." Anticlimactically, Naruto lost his balance and fell flailing into the water, ending the competition. Neji was the winner, so without much ado, he dove into the water to return to land.

- Back on land -

Gai was grinning like an idiot when the three sodden genin exited the water and came to a stop in front of the two jounin. "You three did better than I had hoped! Your youth impresses me, yes!" he exclaimed as he flashed a grin at the genin.

Neji chuckled insightfully, "I think that you're just glad that you've won your bet with Kakashi-san."

Kakashi nodded once, "Mm. He's in the lead with 37 wins to my 35 out of 72 games."

"I had promised to do 500 laps if I lost!" Gai cried as he thrust his extended thumb out towards Kakashi, "But I'm so happy right now, I'll do them even though I won. Watch my youth explode!" So with the genin grimacing at their wild sensei and Kakashi staring blank-faced at his childhood friend, Gai gave a spastic yell and dove gracefully into the lake.

"What a spaz…" Naruto groaned softly, hoping for agreements.

Tenten nodded, but admitted that, "It can't be helped, though. We just have to live with it."

Neji, while not ignoring his teammates, had nothing to add to their conversation. Instead he turned to Kakashi and addressed his concern over the strange chakra he had seen in Naruto, "What kind of grueling training did you put my teammates through to have them improve to this degree in so short a time?"

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at Neji before answering, "Well, I…"

"Bah! That old man did nothing but stand on the side and watch!" Naruto grouched loudly. Kakashi frowned at the jab, taken aback by the thanks he got for going out of his way to help children that weren't even his students.

Tenten placed her index finger on her cheek, thinking. Finally she said, "Naruto-kun has a point. Kakashi-san coached us from the side while we did all of the training."

The sky darkened and a spotlight shined down on him in Kakashi's mind as he slumped and mumbled, "I did more than coach… I showed them their strengths…"

From out in the water, Gai began to thrash wildly, exclaiming loudly, "Ah! It's gotten super-dark and Kakashi's the one in the spotlight!" he cried, not only being able to mysteriously see Kakashi's mental plight, but thinking that Kakashi was lording the victory over him. "I can't let my rival beat me so easily; I'll do 600 laps to make up for it!" So with another loud scream, Gai surged through the water, determined not to lose.

"We may never know what he's doing the laps to make up for, eh?" Tenten murmured with a playful grin as she nudged Naruto. He gave her a smile, still annoyed at Neji's overpowering victory.

Neji shrugged before telling Kakashi, "Your training style differs from Gai-sensei's, but it seems to be just as effective. But now that Gai-sensei and I have returned, you're no longer needed here. You can leave."

"Ah, you're correct." Kakashi admitted calmly, quickly recovering his composure. "Ja." he muttered before going up in smoke.

"Hey, don't we have a mission today?" Tenten asked, remembering Gai's announcement from earlier.

Neji nodded, "Yes. You should talk Gai-sensei out of doing his laps; 600 of them will waste too much of our time." Naruto looked up in wonder, positive that Neji had said 'our' rather than 'my' this time. Could this mean that Neji was beginning to consider him and Tenten to be part of the team? He brought this up, so Neji replied, "There's a reason we're sorted into three-man cells, Uzumaki, and it's that Konoha specializes in teamwork and respect for our allies. Disregarding what I said earlier, you and Tenten do have potential; the two of you just have to work harder than I do."

"So you've finally come to your senses about that destiny crap, huh?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"You're mistaken, Naruto." Neji replied sternly, "You'll gain enough strength to be considered a ninja, but you are not destined for greatness; yours is a life of mediocrity, instead."

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto scoffed, "I'd expect to hear something like that from you."

Neji couldn't respond even if he had wanted to, because Tenten had somehow convinced Gai to come out of the water to explain their mission to them. The jounin grinned as he admitted, "Because you three had been separated for so long I had planned on having you do a sad little D-rank mission. But now that you've proven how mighty your youthful spirits are…" The three genin eyed him curiously, wondering if he meant what he was going to say. "C-rank! Yes!"

- Hokage tower -

The mission center was a large room with a wall-to-wall window in the back, giving way to a gorgeous view of Konohagakure. Within the room was a long table that seated the Hokage and six other on duty ninjas, all of whom had the task of granting missions to the ninja teams of Konoha. Today the Hokage was busy with a silver-haired genin by the name of Yakushi Kabuto and his genin teammates. So Team Gai was called over by a man with long white hair and stunning green eyes.

Naruto recognized the man right off, "Mizuki-sensei!" he gasped happily. Mizuki smiled and greeted his old student.

"You know this guy?" Neji wondered, glancing sideways at Naruto. He was confused because Naruto had claimed to be a student from Iruka's class. 'So who is this other guy?'

"Yeah! Mizuki-sensei was Iruka-sensei's assistant teacher. He helped me out a lot, like teaching me to throw kunai and how to mold my chakra and…"

"I'm just a nice guy, you see." Mizuki interrupted Naruto's run-on explanation, still smiling warmly. "But you're not here to hear about me. Let's see what D-ranks are available at the moment."

"Actually, we're doing a C-rank! Yes!" Gai exclaimed proudly, sparkling his teeth at Mizuki.

Mizuki raised both of his eyebrows in surprise, "Are you really? Well, then let's check this other scroll, shall we?" The chuunin covertly scanned the other teachers as he retrieved the C-rank scroll; he grinned inwardly when he saw them all busy with other teams or bent over paperwork. "Alright, is there any certain type of mission you'd like to do? Escort a merchant? Investigate rumors of a haunted house? Dealing with bandits?"

"Yes! That one!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, stars seeming to shine in his eyes as he imagined himself standing on top of a large pile of defeated hooligans in a victory pose that he'd learned from Gai-sensei. "I'll show them the power of my youth!" Gai cheered at this and held out his right thumb, grinning and letting his teeth sparkle at Mizuki.

"Oh, Naruto… not you too…" Tenten moaned sadly, hanging her head in shame.

Neji merely chuckled, somehow finding the situation hilarious, "He's becoming more and more like Gai-sensei as time goes by isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so." Tenten sighed, "One day he might even show up with a bowl-cut. How could I be seen in public with him then?"

"Appearances aren't everything, Tenten." Neji scolded softly. "If this is the path he needs in order to gain skill, then it's a good thing. Completing the mission is what matters most, remember?"

"You're right." Tenten admitted softly. "But Naruto is such a cute little boy; it's almost depressing seeing him act like this…"

Neji shook his head sternly and scolded Tenten, "Don't call him a cute little boy or you'll needlessly anger him. I don't care about Naruto personally, but it's obvious that he's the weakest member of our team. He needs to focus his energy into gaining skill as a ninja, and belittling him will only have detrimental results. Put up with it for now."

"Harsh." Tenten whined softly. "I guess it can't be helped, then." By this time Gai had accepted the mission, took the receipt and urged his students to race him to the village gates.

- Konoha gates -

Once Team Gai had gathered at the gate, Gai obviously the winner of the unofficial footrace, the jounin pointed out towards the forest and shouted, "Now that we're all full of youthful adrenaline, let's rush forward to the goal!"

"Woyeah! I'm not tired at all; let's run all the way there!" Naruto exclaimed, mimicking Gai's spastic stance. Off to the side the two jounin guarding the gate stared blankly at the pair, considering closing the gate on them to prevent them from representing Konoha.

"Gai-sensei," Neji interrupted calmly, "You still haven't told us where we're going, let alone the mission details."

"Didn't I?" Gai wondered as he scratched the back of his head, grinning broadly, "I guess I got a little excited to be taking my cute students on their first C-rank mission, hah!" Tenten giggled as their sensei retrieved the document he'd been given by Mizuki. "We're going to Tenshigo no sato in the country of Wind to handle their bandit problem. We're like hooligan exterminators!"

"Tenshigo village!?" Tenten gasped, letting her jaw drop. "B...but that's fours days from here!"

Neji in turn cocked his head to one side before asking, "Why are we taking a mission into foreign lands? Shouldn't Sunagakure be expected to do this?"

"Who cares? We get to kick some real ass now! I can't want to hear them begging for me to stop beating them up!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning as he punched his palm several times throughout the conversation.

"The Daimyo of Wind asked Konoha specifically to undertake this task." Gai explained to his small students, "His reasons are his own; but if Hokage-sama allowed it, then as ninjas it's our job to see it through, despite our personal views. This is a real military operation, so our actions will reflect Konoha's image; we should make our home proud and do the best job that we can!"

Neji shrugged, "That works for me."

Tenten let out her breath and stood up straight, "I understand! Soldiers are paid to do, not think!"

Naruto, still punching his palm, admitted that, "I don't care for all of that stuff. I'm going to prove to Neji that I'm not a loser! I'll show you who'll become a great ninja, jerk."

"I'm a jerk?" Neji muttered to himself as Gai cried out and took off along the path, challenging his students to another race. Neji didn't particularly care about winning the race, but he didn't want to slow the team down, so he let it go and dashed after his team.

- Elsewhere -

Mizuki was finally let off of duty, and with his free time he went straight home. Even before the door was fully closed, he broke into a smirk and laughed evilly as he made his way deeper into his home. "I can't believe that I pulled it off. At long last I'll have my vengeance on that monster-fox, Naruto! After all of those years of ensuring that he'd become a ninja, my plan is finally coming to fruit. That idiot is far too inexperienced to handle a C-rank, there's no way he'd survive on a real mission; my parents will be avenged legitimately by some nameless bandit miles from here. It sucks to lose the Hyuuga and kunoichi, but sacrifices must be made in the name of justice!"

As he sat at his dinner table to quell his jitters, the white-haired chuunin grinned and cracked open the lid of a can of juice that had been on the tabletop. "There's a chance that a mere C-rank mission won't do the job, so I should make a back-up plan. Nothing personal, Naruto, but that thing in you has done too much evil to this village to be allowed to live."

- The next day -

Kakashi stared blankly at the empty practice grounds. Without thinking he had shown up to meet Naruto and Tenten for their training, completely forgetting that Gai had returned the day before with Neji. He sighed heavily as he hung his head and muttered, "So I'm alone again…" The jounin stuffed his hands in his pockets before strolling sadly out of training grounds 12. 'I hate to admit it, but I actually started to like those cute little kids. It's too bad that they never manage to figure out my bell test…'

It was in this mindset that the lonely jounin passed under a tree, unaware of an unseen danger watching him hungrily. Tensing, the shadow in the tree leapt onto Kakashi and wrapped its arms around his neck before sinking its fangs into the man's head.

"Oh, god! Oh, god; there's something in my hair! It's in my hair!" Kakashi gasped as he was forced to catch his balance lest he slip and fall victim to the thing on his back. He thrashed about, trying to shake his attacker loose, which was now growling as it bit the jounin on the scalp. Judging by the weight, size and voice pitch, it was a male child on his back; maybe 11 to 13 years old. Kakashi calmly reached over his shoulder and dug his thumb into the inside of the kid's elbow; when he cried out and loosened his grip, the jounin leaned forward and forced the child to spill off of his back and into the dirt path leading back towards Konoha.

The kid grunted as he struck the ground before jumping to his feet and pleading, "Well, how did I do? Please tell me!" The boy had spiky jet black hair, enormous round eyes and Chinese-style clothing.

"Ehh…" Kakashi groaned when he realized that he had just been subject to an academy student's self-imposed test of skill. "The biting was a bit dangerous to your teeth, but you managed to hide your presence well."

"Ok!" the strange boy exclaimed as he gave a thumbs-up gesture that reminded Kakashi frighteningly of Maito Gai. "I read in a book that long ago ninjas didn't used to have ninjutsu and genjutsu, so I was seeing if I could…"

"Why would you want to neglect ninjutsu?" Kakashi wondered in a curious tone. "The path of pure Taijutsu is harsh…"

"I'm Rock Lee, and I happen to be incapable of controlling my chakra. With the paths of ninjutsu and genjutsu closed to me, I was searching for alternative ways to realize my dream of becoming a jounin." Lee explained openly.

"Interesting." Kakashi murmured softly. As he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, he asked, "So, you plan to use tools, traps and stealth to prove your worth rather than magic?"

"Just like the ninjas of the Sengoku period of Japan, yeah!" Lee exclaimed. "I was going to learn to be a Taijutsu specialist like Gai-sensei, but…" The boy deflated sadly, "I failed to graduate so Gai-sensei already has three students and has little time for me."

Kakashi stared levelly down at Rock Lee, the gears in his head turning and grinding out a decision. "I have plenty of free time; if you're willing, I could help you learn to become a shadow and use surprise as your weapon."

Rock Lee's already large eyes widened further as he made a sharp intake of breath as a show of his hope. "I would be honored to have 'Shirogami' as a sensei!"

"Sh…Shirogami?" Kakashi mumbled slowly as his right eye gave a twinge. He did indeed have white hair, but that wasn't his name at all. "Actualy… my name is Hatake Kakashi…" he corrected weakly, offering a chuckle.

"Hai, Hatake-dono!" Lee exclaimed as he gave a rigid salute and a wild expression of what Kakashi assumed to be respect and veneration.

"…Kakashi is fine…" the jounin corrected again, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "I'm just a normal guy, you see…"

"I'm ready for training as soon as you're willing, Kakashi-sama!" Lee cried loudly, snapping into a more rigid salute and seeming to glow with determination.

"Ehh… me and my big mouth."

- Four days later -

As their bitter sand-ninja guide vanished behind a sand dune, Team Gai looked out towards the mud brick village of Tenshigo, its dangers concealed from the outside world. Lowering his voice, Maito Gai gave orders to his team, "We're going to infiltrate the village outskirts and hold our position when I say. When we've come to rest, Neji will scout the area using his Byakugan and report how many bandits we're dealing with as well as which ones are the strongest. We'll defeat those ones first, and then I'll stand back and let you three get some combat experience; I'll step in if it looks bad."

"This is what all of our training has prepared us for." Tenten mumbled softly, suddenly realizing that this was the real thing. Lives were at stake here.

"We'll do fine. Just keep your cool and don't hesitate." Neji stated more to himself than his teammates.

"Don't worry guys. You have me to watch your backs, dattebayo." Naruto said in an overly-confident tone, once again returning to punching his left palm.

"Calm down my young and cute students." Gai urged softly, "You can knock them out and tie them up with rope; lethal force isn't necessary. In fact, let's make a…"

"No contests this time, Gai-sensei." Neji interrupted quietly, "We should concentrate on fighting, not worrying who's taken down the most bandits. We should move in before our cover is blown." Though he frowned at his student's '_unyouthfulness'_, Gai nonetheless gave the order to execute the plan and they went into action…

- Tenshigo no Sato -

Like perfect little soldiers, Naruto and his team slipped silently into the civilian village. It was child's play making it into a dark alley between two mud-brick houses, where Gai called a halt and gave the signal for Neji to activate his bloodline ability.

As he did this, Tenten glanced nervously towards Naruto, who shared a reassuring smile with the kunoichi. 'It's a good thing Gai didn't give us time to change or Naruto would have gone right to that orange thing that he wears; that would be disastrous here. Not to mention he'd probably catch on fire if he had worn a jacket into the desert!' she thought, using humor to cover her fear. This mission was a huge deal, because it was their first task that didn't involve walking dogs or cleaning up litter; this was an important engagement for their village with innocent civilians in the crossfire. It was nerve-wracking!

"Hey, Tenten-chan?" Naruto whispered after leaning closer to his only friend, "We should stick together again, like when we fought Neji. Even though we lost, we did good, right?"

"All three of us will be working as one on this, Naruto-kun." Tenten whispered back, quickly glancing towards Neji, who was holding the Horse hand seal and closing his eyes in concentration. "Don't get greedy or cocky or try to show up Neji; we need teamwork if we're going to… complete this mission." She had been about to say 'survive', but she felt that would upset her later.

Suddenly Neji opened his eyes to reveal his Byakugan. "They're scattered everywhere; living in the homes of the citizens and using them as unwilling servants. I count 23 of them, most of which are concentrated in a large building to the south, but it's possible that I've missed some. Their upper hierarchy consists of two men and a woman; all three are Sand ninjas of undeterminable strength." The Hyuuga pointed between Naruto and Gai towards a clay wall before finishing, "They have taken residency in a local tavern 200 yards that way. There aren't any guards with them, but they have the bartender as a hostage."

"Sand ninjas?" Tenten breathed in surprise, "We're not ready to fight foreign ninjas! What if they're chuunin? We'll be…"

"Don't worry, Tenten!" Naruto whispered with a confident grin, "I'll be there to protect you!"

"Don't get ahead of yourselves, you fools." Neji cut in sharply, "Even if we go in there with Gai-sensei we will die; that team is too advanced for us as we are."

"Leave these guys to me." Gai commanded as he handed his backpack to Naruto to hold. "You'll get your chance later, but for now I'll handle the difficult ones. This is your first mission after all!" And with that he dashed off, making his way undetected towards the tavern. As he ran, Gai thought to himself, 'Times have changed; when I was ten I was fighting a bloody war and risking my life almost every day. But this is a good change… kids shouldn't be robbed of their youth at such an age!'

- Konoha -

Mizuki rubbed his chin absent-mindedly as he looked over the final version of his back-up plan to destroy the Kyuubi if by some miracle Naruto returns alive from the Wind country. He had to be very delicate to avoid being suspected; which was why he was writing these incriminating plans into a scroll that would only respond to his chakra.

What he had so far was this: he'd lie low for 2 to 4 months, and then he'd kidnap the A-rank mission scroll and switch it with a C-rank in hopes that Naruto will be tempted to take it. Now that he had the basics down, he wrapped the scroll in plastic and carefully pried his bathroom mirror off of the wall, where there was a small concealed compartment. This would be the scroll's new home until Mizuki was ready to execute his plans… in more ways than one. But it was now time for work; he was to sit beside the Hokage and dole out missions to the on-duty ninjas again.

- Tenshigo village -

With the leaders handled, Gai gave his next set of orders, "Neji, how many bandits are hiding in the homes?"

"Eight."

"Because this is your first time, we'll all go in at once." Gai announced softly. "You three will knock them out and we'll carry them to the tavern to tie them to a post. Let's show them the youth power of Konoha!"

Thanks to their many years of training in the academy, the three genin managed to evade detection as Neji lead them to the first captured building. One by one the Konoha shinobi entered through a window and silently approached the bandit, who was sitting down to a meal that was prepared by the helpless young man who owned the house.

From out of hearing range, the ninjas discussed their plan in whispers, "Tenten, you knock on the door to lure one of them out." Neji began, "If it's the bandit, Naruto and I will both attack him at once, Naruto will lead and I will follow-up. If it's the homeowner, then we'll rescue him and Naruto will henge into him. Tenten, you guard the citizen while Naruto goes into the kitchen. I'll wait just outside the door, waiting for you to get the first strike. After that happens, we proceed with…"

"With kicking his ass!" Naruto put in, making a thumbs-up gesture that would make Gai proud.

"Yeah. Let's do this." Tenten agreed with a sharp nod. So they went into action…

- Preview -

Mission complete! Gai-sensei reveals to Naruto, "Though you're youthful, you're incomplete!" Naruto's special training in the next chapter of Naruto Neo!


	5. An Incomplete Ninja

Author's note: Sorry for breaking in but I think I should clarify something. Naruto WILL indeed learn the Kage bunshin in time. It won't be at 11 or even 12, but Naruto will get it.

**Chapter 05: An Incomplete Ninja**

- Tenshigo village: Wind country -

A muscular, shirtless man was sitting at a dinner table with western style eating utensils held powerfully in his hands. Beside him a dirty and pathetic teenaged man sat, cursing his horrible fortune to have a bandit forcefully move in with him. He let out a heavy sigh just as there was a knock on his front door, startling the poor homeowner.

Suddenly the bandit slammed his fork down seized his hostage by the collar, yanking him closer. "You should have mentioned that you were expecting a visitor." the bandit growled coldly.

"I…I wasn't expecting anyone today, Kajima-san. I don't… I don't know who it could be." the homeowner gasped in fear.

"Then go see who it is, you blithering idiot." Kajima growled dangerously, making sure to keep his voice low to avoid being overheard. Kajima roughly released the man and watched threateningly as he stumbled back, catching his balance at the last second.

"Yes, sir…" he muttered before brushing passed his captor and making for his front door. The seconds passed by tensely, causing the bandit to cautiously reach for his weapon, a rusty machete. Foot steps approached moments before the teenaged man returned with an explanation, "It was just some kids playing a prank."

"I didn't hear the door open, you little shit." Kajima replied coldly.

"I looked out of the window and saw them running off." the teen replied weakly, almost whining in fright.

Kajima grew deathly silent and slowly set his eating utensils down on the table. In a cold voice he growled threateningly, "I thought I told you never to look out of any windows?" By this time he was standing upright and glaring darkly at the hostage he'd been pushing around, "I guess it's time to move on to a different house, but I'll have to teach you a lesson first…" The bandit raised his weapon over his head, preparing to bring it down on the terrified teen. He came down with his weapon.

Fuclang! In the blink of an eye a child with long black hair and eerie white eyes appeared, holding a sai of all things up to block his machete! The boy spoke without looking towards the teen, "Hit him, Naruto!"

"I…I was!" the captive cried as he was enveloped in smoke. A moment later an even younger boy with blonde hair and green spandex appeared where the teen had been, holding yet another steel sai.

Kajima's eyes widened when he realized what was happening and who these children were. "Konoha shinobi!?" Kajima demanded angrily, "Why are you children playing ninja way out here? You're butting into something that doesn't concern you."

"Actually, we've been paid to handle this mission." Neji announced, holding the sai with both hands to combat the enhanced strength and better leverage of the blade he was fighting.

"I'm not playing ninja, you retard!" Naruto cried as he lurched forward and stabbed at Kajima's stomach, but the bandit threw his left arm in the way, catching the sharp tip of the defensive weapon with his forearm. Thinking quickly, Naruto threw his right leg forward and kicked Kajima in the crotch with all of his might.

"Gak!" the bandit gasped in pain. "Why you little shi…"

"Jump back!" Neji commanded his teammate as he pulled his right hand off of Naruto's sai and flattened it. After molding his chakra, he pressed his palm to Kajima's stomach and jumped back just as Naruto did. The bandit growled in pain as the destructive chakra burned into his intestines, but he wasn't defeated yet.

Kajima pulled his machete back and hacked at Neji, the obvious greater threat. Their weapons sang as they collided; Neji had caught it between the blade and a tine once again. Unfortunately, the bandit had foreseen this and pushed down with all of his strength. The sharp edge of the machete dug into Neji's left shoulder.

Naruto wasted no time in rushing towards the bandit, but instead veered off to the left and jumped up on top of the kitchen table. From here he leaped at the bandit and performed a Konoha whirlwind so strong that Gai would be reduced to manly tears of pride. Naruto's foot collided with the back of the man's head with such power that he cried out and fell forward, dazed by the blow.

Seeing his opening, Neji lurched forward and slapped his hand against Kajima's face, forcing chakra right into his brain. The bandit swayed in place for a moment before groaning and falling heavily to the floor. "He won't be getting up again." Neji mentioned as he tossed Naruto's sai back to him, who caught it numbly.

"You…you killed him?" Naruto breathed in shock, as he caught his weapon by pure reflex. Truth be told, he was freaked at seeing some killed right before his eyes.

"That is what a real ninja does, Naruto; if you weren't so pathetically second-rate you'd have done the same when I had him trapped. So now who's the jerk? Jerk." Neji finished as he gently touched his wound to determine how bad it was.

"I…I…" Naruto whispered in shock, unsure what to say.

"You have to grow up someday, Naruto." Neji continued harshly, "That is if you survive long enough."

"That's enough, Neji." Gai reprimanded, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. Without answering, Neji brushed past Gai, silently heading for the next house.

- Konoha -

Naruto didn't even want to remember what had happened on this mission, so he put it all out of his mind. Before long they had captured the remaining bandits and turned them over to the guards of the Daimyo's palace; and with that done, they had officially completed their mission. They made their uneventful way home.

The Hokage had been mildly surprised to hear that Team Gai had been given a C-rank so early, but admitted that he was nonetheless impressed with their success. He was somewhat worried by the dead look in Naruto's and Tenten's eyes; the Hokage had a sinking feeling that they had witnessed their first murder and it was tearing at their minds. Though it was saddening, there was little the old man could do about it, now that the damage had been done, so he paid them and sent them on their way.

- Konoha -

Tenten mentioned that she wanted to go home and take a bath, so Naruto waved bye to her; Neji had simply taken off without a word or a glance back. When they were gone, the blonde turned to Gai, who had waited at his student's insistence. "Hey, Super-fuzzy-brows?" Naruto said softly to get his teacher's attention.

"What is it, Super-blonde-brat?" the man with the bowl-cut wondered.

"How are Neji and Tenten so much stronger than me?" he whined, his voice betraying his hurt. Naruto was only eleven after all.

"Your time will come, Naruto!" Gai urged confidently, flashing a sparkly smile.

"Yeah, but that Neji idiot has cool secret techniques and Tenten can summon millions of cool weapons!" Naruto complained, frowning somewhat bitterly. "When do I get something awesome?"

"Hey!" Gai suddenly cried, showing Naruto his thumb, "I'll give you preferential treatment, because you're so much like me! I'll show you something ultra cool tomorrow!"

"Really!?" Naruto gasped, suddenly excited. "How cool is it?"

"It's something very cool, Naruto! I'll show you tomorrow!" and so with a loud cry, Gai exploded, leaving Naruto grinning to himself at the prospect of learning something ultra cool.

So without looking he whipped around and began to rush home to put his ninja gear away and change out of his training clothes. Or he would have if he didn't barrel right into Ino. The two children cried out, Naruto saying 'Uwaa!' while Ino gasped 'kyaa!' as they landed on their butts.

"Look where you're going, dumbass!" Ino scowled before noticing who had crashed into her. "Huh? It's Naruto? I haven't seen you in a while, where were you… and why are you wearing that tacky thing?" she wondered, eyeing the emerald-green leotard that Naruto wore.

"Sorry about that, Ino…" Naruto apologized softly before puffing up with pride, "I was on a mission with Gai-sensei; a C-rank!" the blonde announced as he practically jumped to his feet.

"Oh, I'd forgotten that you've graduated!" she admitted as she reached her hand out to Naruto. "Help me up." she commanded. Naruto shrugged and complied, seeing no reason why he shouldn't. "Now, please explain to me why you'd wear that… thing… in public. More importantly, why I should be seen near you with it on…"

"It helps me train!" Naruto explained exuberantly, "See, it lets my muscles breathe without constricting my movements!" he cried as he flexed his arms and posed like Gai-sensei.

Ino stood frozen in place, forcing her lunch to stay in its place. "If you're not training you should take it off…"

"I was going to until you jumped into me." Naruto muttered, still not seeing why the elastic outfit was so offensive to everyone. It was comfortable and made him strong!

"What was that, Naruto!?" Ino barked as she grabbed him by the collar and clenching her right hand into a fist, "**You** ran into _me_, baka! I should knock the ugly right off of you for implying that! Take it back!"

"Alright, fine. It was my fault." Naruto grunted bitterly. With a self-absorbed snort, Ino released him and placed her hands on her hips.

"Now go bug Sakura or something, I'm busy right now." Ino sneered before turning and whipping Naruto with her hair as she took off down the street.

"Bah, forget them all." Naruto grumbled to himself. "I like these clothes; I might wear them forever! I'm not afraid of violent girls!" he shouted, shaking his fist at Ino's receding back. She came to a stop with her fists clenched, so Naruto darted away lest he feel her wrath.

- Later -

Putting the whole Ino scene out of his mind, Naruto returned home and changed back into his usual orange garb and took off for ramen. The second he sat down, he received a warm smile from one of the precious few adults of the village that didn't hate Naruto; Teuchi the ramen shop owner.

"I was worried when you didn't show up for lunch in a week. Have you been working hard, Naruto?" Teuchi asked kindly as he prepared some noodles in advance for Naruto's order.

"Yeah, I just came back from a super tough C-rank mission!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully as he beat himself on the chest in a display of his toughness. When he didn't hear a familiar giggle, Naruto glanced around and asked, "Where's Ayame-nee-san?"

"Ayame-chan is making a delivery for me. But what kind of ramen do you want today, Naruto?" the restaurant owner asked.

"Give me ramen with beans this time, old man! I need to recharge the energy of my youth!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling a thrill coursing through his body at the thought of his favorite ramen.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi announced as he began reaching for the various ingredients. They continued to chat about anything and everything as the food cooked, and within minutes a steaming bowl of bean ramen was set in front of Naruto.

"Ittedakimasu!" Naruto cried before diving into the ramen, not hearing the shop owner chuckling at his exuberance. He was halfway through his second bowl when the cloth flap that served as a door was moved aside and a humming girl entered, pausing to giggle and rub Naruto's hair as she went by. "Ah! Ayame-nee-san!" Naruto cried after swallowing his noodles. Ayame was the fourteen year old daughter of Teuchi and had only recently begun helping her father with his restaurant. She was one of the handful of villagers that treated Naruto with kindness; Naruto wasn't sure why.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Naruto; has your sensei been training you hard?" the girl asked with a smile while tying an apron around her waist.

"It was a mission all the way out in Wind country!" Naruto exclaimed proudly, "I did really well, too!"

"Ah, that's great, Naruto!" Ayame giggled softly. "Are you having fun being a ninja?"

"It's better than I had imagined!" Naruto cried around a mouthful of ramen. "I'll be the Hokage in no time!"

"Ganbatte, Naruto!" the girl urged with another small giggle. "Uzumaki Naruto: Godaime Hokage! That sounds really nice, doesn't it?"

"It sure does!" the blonde exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and adjusted his forehead protector, "I'm in the springtime of my youth, so I'm energized now! I'm going to train like never before! How much for the ramen, old man?"

"It's my treat this time, Naruto; as a reward for completing your first C-rank mission!" Teuchi offered kindly. "You go and get strong, Naruto!"

"Thanks, old man! Bye, Ayame-nee-san!" Naruto exclaimed before sprinting out of the shop.

Ayame giggled again as she took Naruto's bowl to wash it. "That kid's so cute, isn't he dad?"

"Naruto's more than that, Ayame-chan." Teuchi said in a proud voice, "That kid's a hero, you know?"

"Naruto's a hero? Why is that?"

Deciding that his daughter was old enough to know, he said, "I'll tell you about the Yondaime's deeds and wishes when we get home. For now, please refill Takeshi-san's beef ramen."

Confused, the teen went about her job, wondering just how an eleven year old boy could be a hero.

- The next day -

Naruto found Gai in training area 12 standing on one of the logs pounded into the lake, so after swimming over and climbing up on the log beside him, he joined his teacher. "Where's Tenten-chan and Neji, Gai-sensei?"

"This is Naruto's special training. You wanted a cool ability, right?" Gai mentioned powerfully, his teeth sparkling in the morning light.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, as he absent-mindedly adjusted his forehead protector.

"Good, now watch this, Super-blonde-brat." Gai ordered as he placed his hands together. The jounin then made a number of perfectly formed hand seals, which was unusual for a taijutsu specialist, and when he was finished he looked over the water and hooked his right index finger in front of his mouth. "Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu!" Gai shouted before an enormous wave of fire exploded from his mouth.

"Sugoi…" Naruto breathed in awe, watching as the fire curled into a ball and broiled before his eyes. "Gai-sensei's going to teach me ninjutsu!"

The fire cut off and Gai wheeled around with a grin and a 'cool-guy' pose. "That's ninjutsu on the next level, Naruto! It's called nature manipulation." The jounin exclaimed before placing his hands on his hips and laughing, "But don't get confused! Each ninja has their own element; fire, wind, lightning, earth and water. Naruto might be water natured for all I know! Hahaha!"

"Gai-sensei, your…" Naruto interrupted quickly.

"Yes, I'll show you how to unlock your nature…"

"Gai-sensei, you…" Naruto cried loudly, waving his arms wildly.

"I must ask that you show patience, my exuberant pupil." Gai scolded, "If you go too fast…"

"Baka! You caught your hair on fire!" Naruto screamed and bounced from one foot to the other while pointing at Gai's flaming bowl-cut.

With a confused look, Gai sniffed the air and looked around him. "Fire you say? What's burning? Did I catch one of the logs on fire?"

"Ah, you big-nosed, fuzzy eyebrows freak! You caught your own hair on fire, Gai-sensei no baka!" Naruto screamed.

"My hair?" Gai asked, looking up. He freaked, "Gah! Why didn't you tell me earlier, Naruto!?" the jounin exclaimed, quickly beating the flame out with his hands.

"Shut up, I did!" Naruto argued hotly.

After clearing his throat, Gai settled himself. "It's been a long time since I've used magic… but let's move on, Naruto. If you're willing, I'll give you special individual training to teach you to manipulate your own element. What do you say, my cute young pupil?"

"Of course I want to, Gai-sensei! Show me now!" Naruto exclaimed impatiently.

"First thing's first; we need to find out what element you are." Gai announced before fishing around in his pockets, forgetting where he put the thing he was looking for. He then pulled out a slip of paper and held it out to Naruto, who accepted it. "This is magical paper that'll feel your chakra and show you what type it is. It's very cool, right? Yes!"

"Magic paper?" Naruto mumbled as he held it in his hand, "So I put chakra into it?"

"Yes. If you're fire-type it'll burn; if water it'll get wet; lightning will crumple it; wind will cut it; and earth will turn it into dust." Gai explained, counting each element off on the fingers of his left hand. "But I should warn you, Naruto. No matter how youthful or excited you are, this could take you many months to learn."

"That's fine, Gai-sensei. I'm ready for it, dattebayo!" Naruto called as he pinched his eyes shut and filled the paper with chakra…

- Ichiraku household -

Deciding instead to tell her about Naruto's secret past over breakfast, Ichiraku held his daughters hands as he looked her in the eyes. "Are you ready, Ayame-chan?" Teuchi asked his daughter, making sure that she was ready to hear a secret of the village kept for 11 years.

"It's not gory, is it?" she worried.

"No, no. A little sad, but not bloody." the man told his only daughter. "Eleven years ago, when you were just three, a demon attacked our village." Ayame gasped and bit her finger in fright, but urged her father on. "I'll spare you the details, but after a losing battle, Yondaime Hokage made a painful decision; he was going to die to protect our village. To do this he needed a newborn baby to seal the evil Kyuubi inside. Yondaime asked for everyone to regard this baby as a hero, a sort of martyr for us all; whose task was to live with this creature in him so that it can never hurt a human ever again."

"And… Naruto was that baby?" Ayame breathed sadly, letting her tears flow freely.

"That is why I've urged you to be so nice to him. He's gone through a lot of grief, because many children lost their shinobi parents to the Kyuubi, and have begun to hate Naruto by proxy. I however, still hear the Fourth Hokage's words ringing in my ears; 'I want this baby to be revered as a hero, the brave soul whose task it is to play keeper for this demon.'" Teuchi sighed after finishing, letting his own tears spill down his face.

- Training grounds 12 -

Naruto held two evenly cut pieces of paper in his hands. Gai grinned widely and gave a thumbs-up to Naruto, "You're wind-type, brat!"

"Yes!" Naruto cried happily. Suddenly he stopped mid-cheer and sobered up. "What does that mean?"

"You're getting smarter, Naruto. That's great!" Gai called as he clapped Naruto on the shoulder excitedly, accidentally throwing him into the water in his excitement. Naruto resurfaced and shook his head to shake the water off of it, too used to being knocked around by his spastic sensei. "Listen up, Naruto… Naruto?"

"Water you waiting for, Gai-sensei? I'm listening!" Naruto called up, grinning at his joke. In his excitement he had become playful.

"No time for a swim now, Naruto." Gai scolded as his student climbed back up the log and sat cross-legged on the stump. "Ok! So if the elements were to duel, wind would beat lightning, but lose to fire. Fire would win against wind, but lose to water. Water will lose to earth, which in turn will get beaten by lightning. That's the great circle of nature!"

"I don't understand all of that!" Naruto cried impatiently, "I'm wind, so all I should worry about is fire, right? So teach me to control the wind and we'll get to the other elements later!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this, Naruto!" Gai cried as he reached down and chopped Naruto in the head, punishing him for his impatience. "That's punishment for losing focus! You have to focus your youthful energy into getting strong, so listen to what I have to say, alright?"

"I didn't lose focus!" Naruto growled as he climbed to his feet and shook off the pain in his skull. "Tell me what to do, then."

"First I want you to realize that this will be hard and take a long time. Konoha wasn't built in a day, you know!"

"That's the wrong metaphor, Gai-sensei!" Naruto shouted, pointing at him accusingly.

Gai ignored this, instead he pointed out to the horizon, imagining waves dramatically crashing against the rocks in his mind. "Naruto! Let's work twice as hard as normal so that you can compete with your rival, Neji!"

"Gai-sensei!" Naruto cried excitedly! "I'll do it, Gai-sensei!" Overcome by the touching moment, Gai lost himself and pulled Naruto into a powerful and dramatic student-teacher hug. "Herrk! I can't breathe! Gai-sensei!" Naruto shouted, unable to thrash due to the inhuman strength of Konoha's noble green beast.

"Naruto!" Gai cried, mistaking his students shouts for enthusiasm. Naruto fainted from loss of air. "What kind of a teacher am I!?" the jounin shouted to the heavens when he noticed Naruto hanging limply in his arms. So after depositing Naruto on the shore, Gai punished himself by doing 200 laps around the lake, crying manly tears of shame as he did.

- 3 days later -

When Naruto had finally managed to cut his leaf in half with the power of his spiritual energy alone, he was so happy that he decided to treat his entire team to ramen. So it was that Gai, Neji, Tenten and Naruto entered the small ramen shop. "Hey, old man! I brought my team with me this time!" the blonde exclaimed happily.

"Ah, Naruto!" Teuchi called, glancing over his shoulder and noticing bandages on his favorite regular's hands. "Training hard, I see."

"This place is small." Neji muttered stiffly, "I'm not sure if I can believe that this food is satisfactory." Naruto was too busy answering the shop owner to hear Neji's insult.

"Neji!" Tenten hissed quietly, "This is Naruto's treat, so be nice!"

The arrogant Hyuuga muttered conceitedly, "I'll stay only because eating together is an aspect of teamwork."

Gai simply listened in, reminding himself that it was better for his students to work out their differences on their own. It was through his youthful willpower alone that he didn't break in.

"Oh, Naruto." Teuchi called over his shoulder, "Ayame was looking for you earlier." he prompted.

"Nee-san was? Why?" Naruto asked at the very moment that the cloth flap behind his team opened, spilling sunlight into the restaurant.

"Naruto?" Ayame uttered when she saw the blonde standing with his team. Before he had turned around all of the way, she brushed past Neji and Tenten to pull the shocked eleven year old into a tight hug. "You're so brave! Thank you, thank you! You really are a hero!" she gushed as she hugged him tighter.

"Ack!" Naruto gasped before pulling away and taking a frightened step back. "You… you scare me…" he muttered before ducking around his confused team and dashing down the street, hoping to put that confusing situation behind him.

"Naruto…" Ayame sighed, hanging her head and slowly making her way behind the counter to get back to work.

Neji looked from Naruto's back to Ayame with a blank look on his face, ignoring Tenten's worried muttering of his name. After one more pass, the genius scoffed and rolled his eyes; deciding that whatever it was, it was inane and irrelevant to his personal situation and put it out of his mind. "That loser is taking after Gai-sensei more with every passing day." he sneered to himself as he took a seat in the ramen bar.

"Tenten!" Gai said as he placed his powerful hand on his female student's shoulder, "Go bring Naruto back, ok? We shouldn't train with empty stomachs!"

"Hai, Gai-sensei." Tenten said with a sharp nod. After giving a polite bow to the restaurant owner, Tenten dashed off after her teammate.

- Elsewhere -

Naruto stopped running and fell heavily against a tree. He wasn't out of breath; that rarely happened to him unless he exerted himself for hours at a time. The reason he stopped was because he felt that he was far enough away from Ayame; that scene had embarrassed him more than frightened him.

"Where are you running off too so quickly, Uzumaki?" Kiba wondered from the other side of the tree, where he had decided to rest after his daily sprint through the forest with his dog. "Who's coming to kick your ass this time?" he asked in an amused tone.

"Shut up, dog-boy!" Naruto growled.

"Ah, you'd expect me to be upset with you dropping on me and knocking me down, right?" Kiba continued with a wolfish grin. "But the truth is, I realized that you're just a retard and can't be made accountable for your actions."

"Yeah, look who's already graduated, Kiba!" Naruto grunted, crossing his arms and refusing to be goaded into a fight. Tenten had taught him a secret to cool his temper.

"Whatever, Naruto. Come on, Akamaru; I think our kibbles and bits are digested by now."

"Ew, you eat dog food?" Naruto laughed tauntingly.

"Akamaru and I share everything we eat, from dog food to dango. Good bye, Naruto." And with that Kiba took off.

Naruto sighed when he realized two things. One: he'd allowed himself to be goaded. Two: he didn't have anyone to share his food with, human or animal. Or at least he thought; at that moment Tenten came in for a landing, having leapt off of a building. "Yo, Naruto."

"Tenten-chan?"

"It's not really my business what your relationship is with that girl, but Gai-sensei asked me to bring you back."

"Oh." Naruto said as he looked off to one side, debating whether or not he should ask his personal question or not. Finally his bravery won out, so he asked, "What is your relationship with me?"

"Me?" Tenten wondered, pointing to her chest and raising an eyebrow. After a moment she answered, "I think of you as my little brother, Naruto. That and you're my reliable comrade!"

"Yeah, me too." he stated with a smile. "Let's go back then, onee-san! You have to try Ichiraku's amazing ramen!"

- Months later -

Gai had announced that his team had completed their last ever D-rank mission before spastically telling them… shouting at them… that from that point on they would only do C-rank. And as luck would have it, the very next day the Hokage had one for them!

Naruto had lived up to his word and retired his orange jacket and pants in favor of Gai's special elastic training leotard, seeing as how he was now constantly training. As he walked through town, he'd hold a leaf in his hand and focus on cutting it; Gai told him that when he could cut it in under three seconds then they'd move on to the next part. He only had to shave two seconds off of his time.

Tenten now wore an extra pouch at her side to hold even more weapons. She'd add more to the scrolls as she mastered them, and she was coming along wonderfully; earning recognition as the best genin kunoichi in their graduating year, as well as the year before them.

Neji's outfit was unchanged, though he walked with more confidence than before. He had mastered the Kaiten and could perform a 32 hit combo to close the largest clusters of chakra points with fluid and deadly skill. And, he was pleased to boast that he could activate his Byakugan simply by willing it.

Gai-sensei… was still Gai-sensei. He had, however, been shocked when he visited Lee, only to find his eternal rival teaching him in preparation for the re-opening of the academy. He wished his rival the best of luck with his favorite academy student, hoping beyond hope that his childhood friend could do what he could not and get Lee to graduate.

The Hokage smiled at Team Gai as he explained their mission, "It's that time of the year again. The chuunin exam this year will be held in Sunagakure, and as such we have been asked to hand-deliver the list of Konoha genin that will be participating to the Kazekage. I have chosen Maito Gai to be the man to do this, and you three will accompany him. You will stay in Suna for one day and one night while they enter the information in their databanks."

"Sunagakure?" Tenten wondered softly, glancing up at Gai.

"What's the chuunin exam?" Naruto demanded, confused by the unfamiliar term. "Is that a test to become a chuunin?"

"Why, yes it is, Naruto." Sandaime Hokage chuckled, impressed by how fast the blonde had figured it out. It wasn't a very tough concept after all.

Gai spoke up suddenly, "Don't let your ambitions cloud your judgment, my students! Though you three are strong, you're not quite ready for this bloody test; it's for the most elite of genin that are ready to become full soldiers."

Naruto gaped in amazement, "I'm ready now!"

Tenten looked impressed, but she didn't speak.

Neji frowned, "I'm ready for it, Gai-sensei."

"We'll accept the mission, Hokage-sama." Gai announced loudly, throwing his hand out to accept the mission. "Who's the escort?"

"Right, I'd forgotten." the old man chuckled softly, exhaling a puff of pipe smoke. "It's a jounin of the Sand; Baki and his team."

- Preview -

Delivery! Team Gai visits Sunagakure to hand over the names of Konoha's competing genin. The children of the Kazekage are the escort's team? With Konoha's image on the line, can Naruto manage to stay out of trouble and avoid an international incident? Next chapter we meet the Sand-siblings of Sunagakure!


	6. Children of the Wind

**Chapter 06: Children of the Wind**

- Konoha gates -

"Ok! Suna is three days from here, you three!" Gai exclaimed excitedly as he gazed out towards the horizon. "That is, it's three days for a normal team… but we have something that those other two teams lack!" he cried as he swiveled his hips and raised his finger high into the air. Every year the academy produced nine genin; Gai's team consisted of only three of these nine.

Naruto caught on quickly and adjusted his forehead protector in anticipation, "We have discipline, Gai-sensei!"

"That's my best student! Yes!" Gai exclaimed as he grabbed Naruto for a manly hug of youthful passion. "Naruto!"

"Gai-sensei!" Naruto cried in return. He then began to flail his arms and legs and exclaimed, "No, I really can't breathe dattebayo!"

During this Neji sighed and ran a hand frustratingly through his silky hair, "I hope they don't cause an incident…" the young genius moaned to himself.

"What are we going to do with them?" Tenten sighed wearily. Neji shook his head, having no answer to the question.

Finally Gai got the clue and released Naruto before energetically clapping him on the shoulder, "You put up a better fight than I'd expected, very cool, Naruto!" the jounin exclaimed as he gave a sparkling smile.

"You did that on purpose!? Why are you always such a freak?!" the blonde cried as he pointed accusingly at Gai.

"Seishuun, Naruto! Seishuun! You're a tough little guy, just like me when I was your age. That's good!"

"How is that good!? You almost killed me!" Naruto cried, flailing his arms angrily at his sensei.

"He means that one day you'll be like him." Neji called out, revealing the hidden message. "It's not necessarily true, considering a loser such as you can never attain the level needed to become a jounin."

"You mean if I act like Gai-sensei…" Naruto said in realization, "then I'll become as strong as he is?" he asked, selectively ignoring Neji's hurtful words.

"Naruto… please no…" Tenten began, worried that there threatened to be two of Gai; that would be too much!

"It's his decision, Tenten." Neji mentioned as he began to walk through the gates, past the leotard duo and coming to a stop some distance down the road, "But if Sunagakure is three days away, we shouldn't be wasting time like this."

"Three days my ass!" Naruto exclaimed before glancing at Gai-sensei, "Let's make it in two days!"

"That's a good start, my pupil! Let's instead do it in a day and a half!" Gai corrected as he pointed out towards the horizon again.

"I can make it in half a day!" Naruto exclaimed wildly, jumping and punching the air, "Seishuun dattebayo!"

"Oh no…" Tenten moaned. Then, with a glance at the unshakable determination on Naruto's face, she reminded herself that if she wanted to become as powerful as Tsunade, then she'd need to keep up with this kid. Tenten took a steadying breath before mimicking the 'cool guy' pose and proclaiming, "I'll match any pace you two can set; my future as a kunoichi depends on it!"

"Then let's get moving! The faster we get there the longer we can sightsee in a foreign village! Seishuun!" Gai cried loudly, unaware of how overused the word was becoming. So with that, the three took off at a steadily increasing jog, closing the distance between them and Neji, who was calmly walking down the path. Because he had a head start, he was fairly far from them.

- Elsewhere -

A man in a sandy brown vest with earth-colored clothing and had half of his face hidden was slowly walking towards a large mansion made of sandstone. Over the door was a large green kanji, which stood for 'Wind'. It didn't take long after entering that he stood in front of the most important man in the entire village, the Kazekage of Sunagakure.

"Kazekage-sama!" the man greeted with a low bow, his hand crooked over his heart in salute. The Wind Shadow sat on a luxurious cushion hidden behind an obscuring silk curtain and surrounded by four guards, two behind the curtain with him and two just outside with the visitor.

"Make it quick, Baki." the man hidden behind the curtain demanded coldly.

"Yes, sir! We've received word that Konoha's representative for the chuunin exam preparations has departed from the village hidden in the leaves. It has been decided that I should escort him and his team this year, sir!" Baki announced dutifully.

The Kazekage was silent for a long while. Finally he spoke, "Don't let Gaara cause any international incidents. I hereby grant you permission to kill him if you deem it necessary." The Yondaime Kazekage then did something that he'd never done before; he reached out and moved the curtain out of the way to look the jounin in the eyes. "No matter what, ensure that our relations with Konoha will be maintained. Accomplish this and I'll personally nominate you for Kazekage when I retire."

"I give my life for Sunagakure, Kazekage-sama!" Baki uttered respectfully, his heart skipping a beat. He realized that this was an all or nothing deal; he'd either die by Gaara's hands, fail and become executed… or go on to become Godaime Kazekage. This would be a tricky mission indeed!

The fourth Kazekage nodded and replaced the curtain as he sat back on his cushion. "One more thing, Baki." the Wind Shadow prompted. When the jounin acknowledged that he was listening, the Kazekage said, "Temari has been acting rebellious as of late. I'd hate to be forced to punish her severely, so ensure that she doesn't do anything stupid."

"I'll put my life on the line to carry out your orders, Kazekage-sama!" Baki replied stoically, giving a salute and a bow. "I'll leave immediately to meet the representative and escort them safely to Suna." There was no answer, which meant that their meeting had come to an end.

- River/Wind border-

Neji was bent over gasping for breath and glaring at his blonde teammate. He had refused to be defeated by the loser and had agreed to race the final mile to the resting spot Gai had marked on a map. The two boys had left Gai behind, who cheered at their youthful exuberance and competition.

Due mostly to his inhuman stamina, unwavering determination to win and total disregard to his own personal safety, Naruto had managed to run at top speed far longer than any human ever should; all because of the demon fox's 'gifts' to protect his container. "Hahaha! Looks like I'm the winner this time, Neji!" Naruto exclaimed proudly as he rubbed his nose with a finger. "Do it!"

"Fine, savor your small victory, Naruto. But this changes nothing; those of us born with advantages are given them for a reason… and it's so that we can realize our great destiny." Neji muttered in a low tone. 'What is this kid? He's not even breathing heavily anymore!'

"That's not what we agreed on, baka!" Naruto scolded conceitedly, "You have to tell me who's won in a loud and clear voice!"

"It was you, Naruto; you beat me." Neji said hesitantly, clenching his fists as he forced himself to admit it. "Tell me something, Naruto." the genius demanded quickly, "Why do you fight your destiny so hard? What's driving you?"

"What drives me? Well, it drives me crazy when I'm underestimated!" Naruto announced strongly, jabbing himself in the chest as he tossed his shoulders back and inhaled. "All my life people have ignored me and told me that I'll never amount to anything. So when I got sick of crying and feeling sorry for myself, I began kicking my own ass to get stronger and stronger. Now, even death won't stop me from becoming the Hokage and proving them all wrong."

"Then your goal isn't that much different than mine…" Neji murmured softly.

"Ah, so what about Neji, then?" Naruto demanded with a smile, hoping beyond hope that he was finally proving himself to the genius, "What are you getting strong for?"

"There's no point in telling you, Uzumaki." Neji said as he stood up straight, having finally caught his breath. As he returned Naruto's glare, the Hyuuga made an uncharacteristic deal, "If you can manage to injure me during our next training session, then I'll tell you my destiny. Until then, you should concentrate on becoming truly strong."

"Say that you promise, Neji." Naruto demanded in a low and serious tone. "It doesn't mean anything unless you make a promise and keep it. Because those that break their promises are…"

"Losers." Neji finished for him. "I give my word, Naruto."

"Yes! That is what I was hoping for!" Gai cried happily from atop a tree branch, "My students have formed a beautiful friendly rivalry! I could cry!" the jounin exclaimed with a clenched fist as tears gushed from his face in rivers.

"This is where we're resting, right?" Tenten wondered as she inspected the clearing. It was your basic clearing with trees, bushes, dirt and more trees.

"Yes!" Gai affirmed, "We'll sleep here for tonight and continue first thing in the morning."

Tenten let out her breath and sank wearily to the ground while muttering, "Oh, thank the Shodai… we've been running nonstop since we left!"

"We should decide the order that we'll keep guard." Neji mentioned as he casually leaned against a tree. After a short debate, it was decided that Naruto would watch first, followed by Tenten and finally Neji; Gai wouldn't go because he felt that the genin needed to learn how to do it. Practice makes perfect and all.

So while the other three were preparing to sleep, Naruto went from bush to bush and collected as many leaves as he could hold. He went so far as to stuff several handfuls into a pouch, figuring that there wouldn't be any trees in the desert. He wished his team good night before giving the first leaf his full attention. It was time to train his chakra control.

- Kaze no kuni -

After collecting Gaara, Team Baki had begun their arduous trek through the desert, heading on a crash course with the Konoha shinobi. As they walked, Temari demanded to know how an escort mission could be more important than an assassination.

Glancing over his shoulder at the kunoichi, Baki decided that he might as well answer. "You're aware of the current state of Sunagakure. We're the smallest of the five major militaries, we're having financial trouble and everyday we lose clients to another village."

"I know all of that!" Temari scoffed, forgetting her emotional training for the moment. "What does Konoha have to do with this?"

"This is confidential information. It's been confirmed that the Daimyo of Kaze no kuni has been delivering mission requests from civilian villages within our borders to Konohagakure for completion." Baki informed as he looked his students in the eyes.

"That son of a…" Kankurou growled as his hands found the straps that held Karasu to his back.

"But that's treason, isn't it!?" Temari barked, completely losing her cool. "He should be executed for…"

"No, it's not." Baki said strongly, "But your father has already set his plan to restore our prestige into motion. We have to prove that we're as capable now as we were during the third Great Ninja War, so for now we have to maintain the delicate relations with the other strong shinobi villages to prevent any preemptive attacks that they may be planning."

"Ok. But what's after that, then?" Temari demanded with her arms crossed.

Baki watched the genin in silence for a moment before saying, "Even I don't know that much. I do as I'm ordered with full conviction to complete my task, regardless of why I'm doing it. Keep that in mind you three."

Before anyone else could speak, Gaara came to a stop and announced, "There's a ninja passed out that way…" before pointing off to the north.

"A ninja? From which village?" Temari wondered curiously, gazing off into the distance in hopes of seeing the fallen shinobi.

"How should I know?" Gaara droned carelessly, "I just smelled his blood is all."

Baki took a step to the north as he calculated the risks. "It could be the representative from Iwagakure. Gaara, lead Kankurou to the ninja. Temari, you'll help me set up camp. We're going to rest here so that we can interrogate this person."

"What if it's a trap!?" Temari warned with a worried look towards Kankurou. She knew that Gaara was perfectly safe because of the demon inside him, but her other brother was a lot more vulnerable.

"Hey, I can take care of myself! You're not the only one that was ready for the chuunin exam, Temari." the boy dressed in all black retorted. "Come on, Gaara; let's go find this punk."

- Minutes later -

Baki glanced up in the middle of setting up a wind resistant tent with Temari when he detected movement in the distance. "Get down in the sand!" he hissed as he focused wind chakra into his first two fingers. Quick to obey, the kunoichi dropped to the ground with one hand on the bottom of her iron-fan, prepared to draw it on a moment's notice.

Baki scanned the horizon with bated breath, ready to defend the daughter of the Kazekage with his life. He didn't sense any murderous intent, but that was easy to mask with proper training. He didn't relax until he spotted an eyeball made of sand hovering just off to his left, barely visible against a sand dune; it was the scouting jutsu that Baki had helped Gaara create. With a sigh of relief, the jounin dropped his guard and informed Temari that she could stand up.

Having determined that the camp hadn't been compromised, Kankurou and Gaara crested the dune a short way from the eye, carrying what looked like a person dressed in black and brown. They set the woman in the sand for Baki to inspect.

"She's an ANBU from our village." the jounin announced as he checked the woman's pulse. "She's unconscious and injured, but her life isn't in danger. Bring me a water flask, medicine and bandages, Kankurou! Temari, help me move her into the tent." Baki commanded. He wasn't a medic, but binding wounds properly was standard knowledge that most chuunin and all jounin of Suna knew.

When they had her moved and the supplies beside the woman, Baki ordered the male genin to continue working on the tent. Together the kunoichi and jounin stripped the ANBU to clean her wounds and wrap them with bandages. Finally they were done and the two male genin were permitted back into the tent.

"Was she the only person that you found, Kankurou?" Baki questioned in a low tone, eyeing the sleeping woman suspiciously.

"She was alone, but there were kunai lying around her, as if she'd pulled them out and left them. Her trail was easy to find; she'd been crawling for as far as the eye could see." the puppet user explained.

Gaara, also watching the young woman, decided to speak his mind, "Wouldn't carrying her back to Suna be difficult? Maybe we should just kill her and leave her for the buzzards."

"Gaara…" Temari began wearily, "Wouldn't dad be upset if you killed one of his ANBU soldiers?"

"I've never considered that man to be my father. I do as I like; if you want to stop me, I dare you to try." the demon container answered dangerously.

"Grow up, Gaara." Kankurou growled at his younger brother, far less intimidated by him than his older sister. "The ANBU hasn't done anything to you, just leave her be."

Baki knew better than to interrupt the siblings; he was sure that the older two would talk their brother out of making a mistake. As he watched the four sand ninjas carefully, he asked himself, '_What could have happened to this girl's team? I'll assume the worst and figure that her captain and partner have been killed. But what could have done it? Could it have been Nukenin or enemy ninjas?_' If this was true, then they were in a tight spot. '_This is a terrible thing to happen with the Konoha ninjas on their way here._' Finally he cut into their argument, "Keep your voices down, I'm going to investigate. I won't return until morning."

"Do you need me to go with you, Baki-sensei?" Temari asked, hoping to see some action rather than prepare for bed. "Staying here is so boring." she complained.

"Do as you're ordered!" he commanded firmly, sending out a bit of murderous intent at the kunoichi. He knew she'd eventually become accustomed to it, but for now it worked as intended. "Protect our comrade, that's an order." He demanded as he slipped out of the tent and vanished over the dunes.

- The next morning -

The Sandaime stared wearily into the eyes of a chuunin that was being held in place by the two ANBU that had discovered him. Finally the old man exhaled smoke, "Mizuki, why would you even consider something like this?" he asked, indicating the secret scroll the white-haired instructor had hidden.

Hanging his head in both shame and sorrow, Mizuki sighed heavily before admitting, "I… I don't know what came over me, Hokage-sama. I think I might have been drunk and overworked…"

Sarutobi let out another puff of pipe smoke and after a long moment he returned his gaze to Mizuki, who was being forced into a crouch by the elite soldiers behind him. "I think you've become confused somewhere. You see, Mizuki…" The Hokage paused to take another puff of his pipe as he waved the ANBU back, silently commanding them to be at ease. "When a criminal is caught, we take him and put him in prison. This doesn't necessarily make the prison a place of evil, though; it's merely a building to keep the criminal's evil away from the innocent." This was a sneaky metaphor, because it reminded Mizuki that he was facing the law as well as hinting that Naruto and the Kyuubi were two different entities.

Mizuki sighed in defeat. He was smart enough to know when he was beaten, and right now he had no defenses against the genius known as the Professor. "Yes, I've tried to put it behind me, but I just can't seem to get over my hatred of that murderous fox!" he said in a crescendo. After calming himself down, Mizuki expanded on his thought, "It doesn't help that the kid was so quick to abandon class and vandalize the village. I guess these juvenile actions reminded me of the Kyuubi and I was overcome by needless resent."

The Sandaime smiled to himself, "Yes, Naruto can be quite a troublemaker. But if my memory serves, you and your partner in crime, Umino Iruka, were a force to be reckoned with as well." he finished with a light chuckle. At that point all humor drained from his face as he was reminded of the serious situation at hand. "However, conspiring to murder Konoha shinobi carries with it a harsh penalty; that of revoking your teacher's license and suspending you from duty for no shorter than two months." Mizuki sighed and hung his head again, accepting the punishment for his crimes. "There is an alternative, though…"

"Hokage-sama?" Mizuki prompted in wonder.

"I have Uzumaki Naruto's grades up until his graduation here before me." the old man stated as he lifted the papers and looked them over. "These are the lowest grades in the history of the academy graduates."

"Iruka and I tried our best, but Naruto was too free-willed and we had over 45 other students to teach." Mizuki admitted. "He was one of the few that didn't act as if they wanted to learn, so we paid more attention to those that did… it's the rule of the academy to weed out those that don't have what it takes."

"Yes, I know this." Sarutobi mentioned with a puff of smoke from his pipe. "I'm sure you know the anecdote 'monkey see, monkey do', am I right?" Mizuki nodded, curious as to what the old man was eluding to. "Children are more like monkeys than we realize. What I mean is that they're very impressionable; learning from and mimicking their elders and such."

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at, Hokage-sama." the chuunin admitted in a confused voice.

The Hokage had hoped that Mizuki would catch on, seeing as how he was a smart man in his own right, but sometimes things just didn't work out as planned. "Children learn how to be adults by copying the adults that are in their life." the Hokage answered directly, feeling it best to finally get to the point. "Naruto sees only hostility and disgust; how long will it be until he becomes the monster that the villagers see him as? I'd rather not have that happen, not after the sacrifice that the fourth Hokage made."

"You want me to be nice to Naruto and show him how to be a proper ninja?" Mizuki realized at last, causing the Hokage to nod in affirmation. "What all of this is about is that you want me to be Uzumaki's father figure!" the young man exclaimed as he jumped to his feet in surprise. The ANBU guarding him too a step forward to restrain him in case he attacked the Hokage, but the Sandaime waved them back once more, claiming that Mizuki meant no harm to him.

"A long time ago a man gave his life in hopes that one day a great evil could be changed into a great boon." the Hokage mentioned as he tapped ashes from the end of his pipe into his hand. "Long ago the shinobi as a whole were used as assassins so that one faction or another could take or maintain control of an area. Today we enforce the emperor's laws and protect the lives of countless innocents. So you see; something viewed as a weapon can eventually become a godsend."

Mizuki knew that the Hokage was referring to Naruto, claiming that though the boy had done a lot of juvenile actions against Konoha, he could become a great asset in time. Mizuki wanted to believe this, but something deep within him, perhaps his resent at losing his parents, refused to trust that Naruto could ever be something special. "I'll decide that for myself while I'm teaching him, Hokage-sama." Mizuki answered stiffly.

The Hokage let out another wisp of smoke before pulling a document closer to him and began to write out the new assignment. As he worked, he offered a suggestion to Mizuki, "Naruto should return from Suna by next week; you have until then to prepare his curriculum."

- Country of Wind -

Gai had forbidden his students from racing through the desert, understanding that the exertion and heat could kill them. "It's unusual for the Sand to be this slow." The jounin muttered as he scanned the horizon. "We should have met up with them before now."

"What do you expect?" Naruto laughed, "We're Konoha, so it's only natural that we're better!"

"Don't mention that in front of them, Naruto." Tenten warned. She was walking beside her friend, but far enough away so that their body heat wouldn't fry them alive. "It'll be bad to cause an international dispute just because our contacts were a little slower than expected. We did run like crazy yesterday after all."

Neji, who had decided to leave it to Tenten, blinked suddenly and activated his Byakugan. "Gai-sensei!" he called to get the bushy-browed jounin's attention. "There's a tent a quarter of a mile ahead and to our left; there are five entities inside."

"Very good, Neji!" Gai cheered as he gave the Hyuuga a thumbs-up gesture. "My students are quickly becoming strong! Yes!"

"But why are there five of them?" Tenten wandered suspiciously, "I think we should check them out before running in and saying 'hi'."

"Good plan, Tenten!" Gai cried excitedly, also pleased that she was learning to treat unknown situations with suspicion and caution. "Ah, I'm so proud that I could explode! How should we approach them without being noticed, Naruto!?" he prompted, ready to erupt with sheer joy at his student's skills.

"We'll wait until nightfall and slip in under the light of the full moon!" he answered, positive that that was how a ninja should act! Or at least that's how the ninjas in his mangas acted.

"Naruto! Noo!" Gai cried as the waves in his mind came to an abrupt stop and anticlimactically sank back into the ocean of his passion. He frowned before turning and facing his slow pupil, the one that ruined his rush. "I'm sorry, but I have to punish you!" he exclaimed as he punched Naruto in the head, throwing him into the hot sand from the blow. "I hate to do this, Naruto, but you have to learn to think like a real ninja!"

"Pft, you don't have to hit so hard, damn it." Naruto grumped as he climbed back to his feet. "I don't really understand any of that sneaking stuff, I'd rather just go right in and kick ass."

Gai sighed before glancing towards Neji. He didn't want to use the boy to spur Naruto on, but if he could heat up their rivalry, Naruto would have no choice but to broaden his knowledge in order to best him. "Neji, tell me how we'll do it."

- Team Baki's tent -

As promised, Baki had returned just after daybreak with news that the woman's tracks led all the way back to an old encampment that had been abandoned since the third Great Ninja War. Unfortunately, the ANBU still hadn't awoken, so Baki announced that they'd hold their position until they had a chance to speak with the ANBU.

She didn't awaken until seven in the morning, when Temari and Baki had ordered the male genin to wait outside while they began to change her bandages. "What are you doing!?" she gasped when she realized that her shirt was off. She covered herself with her arms.

"Lower your voice, soldier." Baki instructed firmly. "Tell me what happened to you and your team."

"Baki-senpai?" the young twenty year old breathed softly, recognizing the jounin. She shook her head and sat up, blinking wearily. "My team and I were ordered to investigate recent activity in the abandoned medical station. We encountered an entire host of bandits and poachers, but before we could report back, we were beset by Sand nukenin. My team is specialized in scouting, not combat… I barely managed to get away with my life and this information because of my teammate's sacrifice."

- Outside the tent -

Kankurou glanced towards his ever quiet brother upon hearing the ANBU's explanation. "It looks like we might get to kill after all. That should make _you_ happy…" he said with a grin.

"I hate feeding weak blood to mother." The redhead replied calmly, "It's none of my concern unless they're strong."

"Didn't you hear what she said, baka? They managed to kill two ANBUs." Kankurou hissed at his brother, "These nukenin are…" Sudden movement caught the puppeteer's eye; something had just come over a sand dune. He let out his breath when he realized that it was just a jackrabbit seeking a meal.

"They'll have left before we get there." Gaara said in his droning voice. "It would be an annoying waste of time."

"Well, it's not really our decision anyway." Kankurou replied stiffly. "Now that the ANBU is awake, we have to get back to meeting those Konoha bastards." Gaara didn't respond, he merely watched the jackrabbit scurry about. He was bored and didn't care about anything his brother was saying, so he entertained himself by imagining if he were small enough to ride the rabbit. Would he actually feel what fun was if he could do that? Insomnia can have quite an effect on people…

From within the tent, Kankurou could hear the ANBU claim that she refused to go back to Suna without first reclaiming her partner's corpses. "It could be dangerous if those Nukenin sell their bodies to another village." She explained dutifully.

Baki answered her, "It can wait until the Konoha shinobi arrive. We'll have to discuss the situation with them. It's possible that they might be able to cooperate with us."

"Yes, sir!" the ANBU, Kaori she had identified herself as, gave a salute. She winced against a wound in her right arm.

- Elsewhere -

The jackrabbit had failed to find food near the tent, so it left the way it had come. Moments later it came up to a young girl before erupting into smoke, revealing that it had been a blonde in disguise. "It's definitely our contacts, dattebayo." Naruto whispered to Tenten.

The kunoichi nodded and pressed a transmit button on a mounted radio and said into the microphone, "Neji, they're the escorts for sure."

#...I'll make first contact. I can use my Byakugan to detect any attacks…# came his reply over the radio.

When Tenten told Naruto of Neji's plan, he shook his head and hissed at her, "No, tell him that I'll go; it's the leader's job to go in first!" And even before the kunoichi had a chance to refute his self-appointed position and irrational action, the blonde darted for the sand dune. He came to a stop at the very peak and cried dramatically, "The shinobi of Konoha are here!"

- Preview -

Dangerous! Gai takes a chance and agrees to let his wonderful young pupils work in tandem with the children of the Kazekage to retrieve the ANBU bodies. Little does he know that the children all face mortal peril on this unforeseen B-rank mission!


	7. Battle of Burning Wills!

Author's Note: Sorry that this is so late; but to make up for it, this chapter is much longer than the others.

**Chapter 07: Battle of Burning Wills!**

- Previously -

When Tenten told Naruto of Neji's plan, he shook his head and hissed at her, "No, tell him that I'll go; it's the leader's job to go in first!" And even before the kunoichi had a chance to refute his self-appointed position and irrational action, the blonde darted for the sand dune. He came to a stop at the very peak and cried dramatically, "The shinobi of Konoha are here!"

- Land of Wind -

The blonde stared down at the pair of genin standing just outside of their tent, who in turn stared up at him. No one spoke.

Finally, upon seeing Naruto's green spandex, the red-haired boy raised his arm and muttered maliciously, "Perfect, now I have rabbit food." As he closed his hand, the sand beside Naruto began to stir.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not rabbit food, I'm Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!" the blonde corrected loudly.

"Gaara, wait…!" the boy dressed in black gasped when he realized what his brother was up to. But it was too late; Gaara closed his hand and a massive jackrabbit made of sand rose from beside Naruto and snarled.

"Why do I suddenly sense that my life is in danger?" Naruto murmured as he reached up and absently batted something away from his head.

"Kid, back away from it!" Kankurou shouted, aware of a sudden movement from within the tent behind him.

"These guys must have been in the sun too long or something…" Naruto mused as a shadow fell across his face, causing him to look up in wonder. His face fell at the same moment that Gaara let out a chuckle.

"After your meal we'll go for a ride. Won't that be fun? Eat!" the boy ordered as he fully closed his fist.

Naruto screamed as the sand rabbit descended on him, biting at his chest and swatting him with its sandy claws to keep him still. "Waaa! Tenten-chan! Gai-sensei! HELP!" he cried as he was thrashed around, blood spraying from his arms and legs, which he was using to protect his vitals. Before his team could make it to the dune, something black wrapped around the spaz-in-training and took the brunt of the evil sand rabbit's hungry maw before carrying Naruto to the base of the tent.

"Damn it, Gaara…" Kankurou growled as he wiggled his fingers, causing the wooden puppet to set the blonde down and return to his back. Before Naruto could speak, a man dressed in a brown military uniform exited the tent and held his first two fingers threateningly in front of Gaara's eye, the wind chakra clearly visible to the naked eye.

Suddenly the rabbit exploded, leaving a determined man with a bowl-cut standing where it had once been. The sand rained back to earth as Gai strode menacingly towards the Sand ninjas with Neji and Tenten watching his back.

"Be that way…" Gaara muttered as he lowered his arm and blinked calmly, not caring one way or another about his game.

"Maito Gai, welcome." Baki greeted powerfully as he lowered his fingers and assumed his full height, which unfortunately wasn't as tall as Gai.

"You must be Baki-san." Gai greeted as he waved his team over and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder to calm him. The poor blonde suffered gashes on his arms and hands, bore a cut under is left eye and had been ground against the sand that made up the creature from its feeding frenzy. When he had cooled the fire of rage burning his student alive, Gai gave a broad grin and laughed, "I expected to meet you sooner, though." he prompted.

"Right. Normally we should be heading for Suna now, but I'm afraid we had an unforeseen encounter with an ally." Baki announced as the ANBU girl drew out of the tent, dressed in full uniform and stood at attention beside the Sand jounin. The elite of Suna were different from those of Konoha in that they didn't wear masks and sheathed their swords at their hips; they did wear a similar black uniform and a slate-grey flack jacket, though in a material more suited to the desert. "I've already ordered my students to accompany our ally to deal with a B-rank matter."

"I understand that this is a Suna matter, but I feel compelled to lend my aid!" Gai announced with a cool-guy pose.

"I don't see why we should help these guys…" Naruto grumbled as he held his left hand over a bite wound on his thigh, "They attacked me for no reason!"

Tenten frowned at Naruto and whispered, "If you had come over a sand dune and screamed at me I probably would have attacked too. You need to act more like a ninja, Naruto!"

Baki interrupted them by clearing his throat. "I wouldn't dream troubling you; as you've claimed, this is a Suna matter, and we'll handle it."

"It's no trouble, Baki-san!" Gai replied excitedly, "I've been waiting for a chance to test my cute pupils to their fullest! Yes!" Baki watched the jounin reservedly as the Konoha-nin held his cool-guy pose, nearly blinding the Sand jounin with his gleaming smile.

"Gai-sensei! Yes!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, suddenly bursting with energy, pride and tears, "I won't let you down! I'll show you that I can be a great ninja, just like you!" The blonde finished with a cool-guy pose, instantly riling Gai up.

"You can do it, Naruto! Hard work and confidence are the most important things in a shinobi's life!" Gai cried excitedly before grabbing his student by the shoulder and pointing out over the horizon as the sun dramatically sank, filling the sky with a passionate red, "Your dream will come true if you work three times as hard as anyone else. I'm excited because I know that one day, Uzumaki Naruto will be… Hokage!" he shouted as the sun sank below the sand, revealing an ocean of stars sprinkled among the navy heavens.

"Gai-sensei! I'll do it! I'll work three, four… even ten times as hard as anyone! I'll become stronger than Neji, stronger than Gai-sensei and stronger than the Hokage! I promise it, and I never go back on my promises; that is my ninja way, for real!"

"Naruto!" Gai cried happily as he pulled Naruto into an affectionate, student-teacher hug.

"Gai-sensei!" Naruto replied just as loudly.

"Naruto!"

"No, Gai-sensei! We're being left behind, for real!!" Naruto cried as he flailed about, pointing towards the other ninjas. They had had enough of the embarrassing scene and decided to put some distance between the two.

"What!?" Gai demanded as he released Naruto and grabbed his own head, the camera view in his head spinning around him dramatically. When he regained his composure, he took Naruto's shoulder again and pointed towards the retreating group of shinobi; they were pointedly ignoring the spastic pair. "Let's double time it, Naruto! We can get there before them for sure!"

"Alright! That'll show them all what I'm capable of!" Naruto exclaimed as he shifted into a sprinting position, ready to rocket off with his sensei.

"And…" Gai prompted, also taking on a runner's pose, "Seishuun!" They were off like bullets.

Tenten groaned as the leotard team shot past her, crying 'seishuun!' with each yard they put between them and the group. "They aren't going to get lost in the desert are they?"

"It's a straight line to the medical facility from here." Baki announced calmly, "Only an idiot would get lost."

Neji shook his head, "Anyway, we should discuss the mission; it's best to have a primary and back-up plan, even if most plans are inevitably changed during execution."

"Excellent foresight." Kaori, the ANBU, admitted in an impressed tone. "Let me tell you everything that I learned…"

- Later -

Neji stood protectively in front of Tenten as she prepared a summoning scroll of weapons. Beside them Kankurou and Temari had split up, gloating that they could do their job alone. The group had come up against a rather large squadron of common thugs and poachers, who were surprisingly well versed in formation and battle tactics.

Gaara, on the other hand, remained beside Baki and Kaori, having decided that such pathetic targets weren't worthy of his attention.

Neji nodded when Tenten announced that she had summoned all that she needed before lowering into his infamous Hakke stance, both readying himself for the bandit's charge and to give Tenten enough freedom to launch her weapons over his head.

Temari was grinning as she spun on the next batch of five criminals and blasted them with a lethal gust of chakra infused wind. They cried out as they were thrown off their feet and cut all over their bodies by some unseen force. "Ah, this can be so easy that it's boring sometimes." she cooed cruelly.

"It just goes to show how superior the Sand shinobi are to common thugs. These wretches are nothing compared to the soldiers of Suna!" Kankurou laughed as he made Karasu fly into several pieces to avoid an onslaught. The bladed parts of the doll each come down into a different bandit, ending his life very easily.

Tenten prepared herself for her grizzly task; even to this day killing bothered her, but she had realized that it wasn't only more efficient, but more humane to take them out without letting them suffer. So, with this in mind, the kunoichi called out, "Incoming!" before grabbing a throwing knife and launching it over Neji's head, followed by an axe. One by one, weapons of all shapes and sizes breezed past the fearless genin, each lodging itself in a charging bandit or harmlessly sinking into the sand.

"Get those damned kids!" the leader of the squadron cried as he dodged first a shuriken, and then a detached arm. "Kill that leaf bastard first, god damn it!" he bellowed, pointing angrily at Neji. Though the boy hadn't done anything, it worried the leader that he was working so flawlessly with the weapon thrower.

"Neji! Here they come, be ready!" Tenten cried as a fresh wave of bandits rushed them with fire in their eyes; they were NOT going to lose to children!

"Yeah…" the Hyuuga murmured as he envisioned a yin-yang below him, calculating his range. A woman crossed the boundary first, but even as her foot touched the ground, Neji appeared in front of her and thrust his palm into her chest. It was a relatively weak hit, not even leaving a bruise, but the woman gasped and stumbled before simply falling to her face in the sand. "Tenten, don't worry about me, keep throwing!" Neji called as he ducked to one side to avoid a heavy blow from a thick club, using his Byakugan to its fullest.

"Of course!" Tenten replied sternly as she whipped both of her arms out, launching a wave of shuriken towards the bandits.

"Use the surroundings, Temari…" the blonde kunoichi reminded herself. So she waved her oversized iron-fan at the sand in front of a gang of bandits that were rushing as a group towards Neji in hopes of overwhelming him despite his Gentle Fist. There was a resulting explosion of sand and yells as grains flew into their eyes and stung their cheeks, blinding them long enough for them to trip and fall into the newly created pit formed from the blast of wind.

"Allow me, Temari!" Kankurou called as he wriggled his fingers, causing Karasu to give a jerk and sprouting several lethal blades from its joints. With another bout of puppetry, he sent his tool down into the pit to do his dirty work

"Tenten, behind you!" Neji shouted warningly. Unfortunately he was pinned down by four full grown adults, each tempered by a hard life of fighting and living in the desert.

"Kyaa!" the girl cried as she leapt to one side to avoid a spear point. She elbowed the guy in the face in retaliation, but he shrugged it off and jabbed at the kunoichi again, grinning at his advantage. Now that he was in her face, she couldn't throw anything at him, and because of the length of his spear he could attack while out of her melee range. "Gah! Where the hell are Naruto and Gai-sensei!?"

- Elsewhere -

Walking with a slump and their arms hanging limp, Gai and Naruto crested another dune, not daring to hope lest they be crushed yet again. "We're lost…" Gai mentioned from the peak of the dune, staring out at the open desert.

"…it's you're fault, Super-Thick-Brows." Naruto grumped, too tired to scream any more. "Why do I never learn my lesson?"

"Don't lose hope, Naruto! We'll just appear fashionably late, like the hero of a comic!" Gai put in, trying as he might to salvage his student's resolve.

"What hero gets lost? Baka!" Naruto flared angrily, "Baka! Baka! Baka!" Gai sighed heavily and slumped forward more…

- Back to the others -

Kankurou's jaw dropped when instead of sending a bloody spray into the air, his puppet was hurled into the air, trailing wires. Before the genin could separate the sections, the wire was pulled on hard, tearing Karasu into even more bits. "What!? Garrote wire?"

Temari was also snarling as she swiped her open fan at a man charging her, though he whipped into the air before the slashing wind got to him. "A body flicker!?" she growled hotly. She spun in place and sent another burst of wind-chakra at the falling man, but his arm twitched and smoke erupted around him, leaving nothing but sky in his place.

Baki nodded calmly at the scene. "These are the shinobi that defeated your team." he stated towards Kaori.

Kaori nodded sharply, "Those two are chuunin level nukenin. Their leader isn't here yet, but he's a…"

"Gaara will handle the jounin." Baki cut in militantly.

After a subdued moment, the ANBU nodded, "Right… he has the Shukaku in him."

"Don't talk as if I'm not here…" Gaara demanded coldly, taking his bored eyes off of the fight. "It's my choice who I kill, not yours, Baki."

"Gaara." Baki replied stoically, "Your father chose me as your sensei because I alone am strong enough to defeat you if the need ever arose. It's not important how you treat your siblings or how much you choose to participate during missions, but you _will_ respect me." the jounin stated powerfully. "Temari and Kankurou cannot handle a jounin, of that I'm certain; you will take part in this mission."

Gaara glared into Baki's only visible eye, imagining the exact way that he'd kill him in excruciating detail. The sand under his feet began to move, drifting forebodingly away from the demon container as he directed his murderous intent at his teacher.

Baki, on the other hand, had both arms resting at his sides, but the first two fingers on both hands were rigid and glowing with chakra; one hand would be used to cut through the shield of sand, the other would pierce the boy's heart, killing him despite the evil within him. It was as the jounin claimed: he was the only one strong enough to handle Gaara, but only while the one-tail was asleep.

Kaori, of course, backed away; she was frightened by the horrible amount of murderous intent emanating from the two.

Finally, Gaara turned his eyes back towards the genin, "Fine, I'll do as you say. For now."

Baki nodded, refusing to show just how relieved he was. Not only did he fear that the demon would awaken and kill them all; but he knew that somehow, someday, Gaara would be a powerful asset to Sunagakure. That was why he declined the Yondaime's order to assassinate the boy; Gaara was the perfect weapon of war.

- Temari's fight -

Temari took a step back, glaring around at the sand around her. She knew that the man was a shinobi; he had used obvious ninja arts and tactics. In fact, she was sure that he had a part in teaching these poachers to fight. But right now he had vanished, and the only place he could be was in the sand; there was simply nothing else out in the desert to hide behind.

The kunoichi spun in place just to make sure he wasn't sneaking up on her. There was nothing. Then she noticed the sand dunes; they were perfect for hiding in! "Foolish!" she cried as she blasted the dunes with her fan. Something dashed out of one of the dunes and landed behind her! Temari whipped around, gathering wind in her fan, and hurled a massive blast to pound the guy and slice him to pieces. "Suna bunshin!" she gasped as the wind shredded the sand clone that had fooled her.

"Now who's foolish, bitch?" the man laughed as he jumped out of the sand directly behind her and clawed her in the back with neko-te; iron spikes attached to one's fingernails, causing Temari to scream as the skin on her back was shredded. Before she could turn to counter, the man dove into the sand again as if it were water.

"That bastard uses genjutsu!" Temari growled darkly, taking a step back to prepare to dodge.

- Kankurou's battle -

"I can still use Karasu even if he's a little busted up…" the teen muttered as he reattached his chakra strings and caught the bladed pieces out of the air.

"Ho? Then I'd better be more cautious, shouldn't I?" the Sand chuunin laughed as he slowly strode out of the pit, followed by the seven bandits that he had saved. "Three go left, three to the right. Tarin and I will keep that puppet busy."

"Oh hell…" Kankurou gasped. With a ninja leading their actions, these nameless bandits had become drastically more dangerous. They rushed at him…

- Leaf ninja's fight -

With Neji occupied, the kunoichi could do nothing but dodge the man's spear and emit a series of, "Kyaa!", "I can't…" and "Too close!" The bandit really seemed to know what he was doing, because he'd jab to make her jump to the side, and then in the same motion he'd bring the spearhead in an arc towards her. This ploy had already worked twice, adding to a number of grazes along the girl's body.

"Tenten!" Neji growled as he ducked a sword, only to take a kick to his right thigh. The bandits had all converged on him, and even though he could see all of the attacks because of his Byakugan, he didn't necessarily have the speed or know the correct maneuvers to effectively dodge them all. After a second of consideration, Neji swore under his breath before turning and abandoning his fight and dashing towards Tenten; he knew the consequences of this action, but he'd actually begun to respect his teammates. And in Konoha, teammates came second only to the mission's success.

As Neji winced against the sword wounds in his back and took a running step to help Tenten, a pair of voices rang out over the sand. "Bad guy's fret and villains tremble!" an adult called from behind a sand dune.

"Burning with a fire hot enough to burn the sin from your souls…" a younger boy cried as he leapt up onto the dune and pointed directly at the spearman.

"Team Seishuun appears to illuminate the dark hearts of wicked men!" the hidden hero proclaimed loudly as he joined the smaller superhero on the dune.

Naruto grinned at the dumbfounded faces staring up at him, sure that they were gawking at how cool and powerful he was. He then ran right at the spearman, who noticed the rush and aimed his weapon at the boy; he was planning to skewer him like an idiot kabob. Instead, thanks to his many hours of jumping onto the logs of training area 12 with Tenten, Naruto cried exuberantly as he leapt up onto the shaft of the spear. Using the man's powerful grip for leverage, Naruto jumped forward and performed a skillful spin as he shouted, "Konoha Whirlwind!" as he laid his foot right upside the bandit's face!

With the spearman distracted, Neji had enough time to make it to him and press his hand to the guy's chest, right over his heart. One short blast of chakra later and he keeled over in agony, leaving Naruto to land heavily in the sand.

"Alright! I'm not as pathetic now, am I?" Naruto laughed proudly as he flashed a smile and gave a thumbs-up gesture to Neji.

"Focus, Naruto." Neji scolded quickly as he spun to face the gang that were still chasing after him. "We'll alternate between guarding Tenten and holding them back. Go!" he ordered, already having grown accustomed to Naruto's insistence on going first.

"I'll prove that I'm really a ninja!" the blonde swore as he breezed past Neji, whipping out his sai as he ran. The second he came in range, the swordsman brought his sword down, knowing that his blade was bigger, stronger and sharper; how could he lose? Naruto skillfully caught the man's blade in the tines of his left sai and twisted it, easily turning the sword aside; he jabbed his sai into the man's stomach in return. But because he was concentrating on attacking the man, two weapon wielding maniacs brushed past him and went for the vulnerable female.

"Just block them! I'll do the damage!" Tenten shouted before released one of her kunai scrolls and blasting a wave of knives into the group, aiming it so that they would miss Naruto.

Neji remained silent as the two men rushed him; he could tell by their eyes that one planned to intercept him to keep him busy while the other continued on to Tenten. This would not be allowed!

- Away from the battle -

"Fashionably late, are we?" Baki murmured sarcastically when Gai met back up with the Sand ninjas.

"The hero always arrives when he's needed most! But enough of that!" Gai exclaimed as he waved his hand proudly down towards his students, as if putting them on display, "What do you think of my beautiful pupils?"

Baki was silent for a long while, watching the trained children beating up on the less-than skilled bandits and poachers. Finally he swallowed his pride and answered, "Their teamwork is exemplary; it would appear that Konoha has a bright future. It was obvious from the start that the Hyuuga child would be impressive, but now I see that each member of your squad knows their place and carries it out with ruthless efficiency."

"Yes! That Super-Blonde-Brat Uzumaki Naruto is the true star! He wasn't born with advantages, and yet he's already turning out just like me!" Gai exclaimed proudly as he puffed out his chest; if he were any happier, the garish jounin would float away!

After a moment of silent debate, Baki glanced towards his green contact and mentioned, "We should interrogate the shinobi; any information we can get from them would be best."

"Very astute, Baki-sensei!" Gai admitted powerfully, "Then we should stop them before their youth gets the better of them and they…!"

"Let them fight a little longer." Baki interrupted strongly, if not a bit rudely. "I want my students to get more experience fighting opponents stronger than them." the jounin of the Sand explained.

Despite the situation, Kaori smiled and mentioned, "A man with Maito-san's reputation should have enough speed to halt an attack at the last second." Baki sedately glanced towards the ANBU curiously, noting the coy tone she had used.

"With my eyes closed!" the noble green beast admitted with a grin and a cool-guy pose, oblivious to the flirt. "I want to ask the nukenin a few things myself."

It was then that Gaara began to stride down the sand dune, slowly making his way towards the fighting. Before he made it to the bottom, Baki called his name, "Gaara. What are you planning?"

The red-haired boy came to an abrupt stop, and without looking over his back, "That boy is the same age as me, and he's playing so nicely with his teammates… I want to try that concept once."

Baki blinked in surprise, struck speechless by the uncharacteristic response from the Kazekage's youngest son. "You mean teamwork with your siblings?" Gaara didn't respond, he simply began walking again, slowly closing the distance between him and the duelers.

"I'm sorry to say this, but that poor boy has no youth. It's tragic…" Gai muttered in a tone far more sober than usual. "Maybe it wouldn't be too rude if I asked about his situation?"

Baki flicked his eye towards the Konoha jounin, contemplating his options and what consequences they carried. Finally he returned his attention to Gaara's receding form and uttered over his shoulder, "Tell him, Kaori." Baki didn't like to talk often, so having her interested in the Leaf ninja worked out for the moment.

"Yes! Baki, sir!" the young ANBU replied militantly, giving a quick salute. When the formality had been served, she smiled and directed her attention to Gai. "Please allow me to explain about that kid's past…"

- Elsewhere -

Many miles away, over rocks and through trees, hidden deep within the forest, sprawled the village of Konoha: the majestic home of dreamers. Within the forest was a small grove set apart from the daily bustle of the village, and this was the meeting place of an event that would become the catalyst of a very bright future.

The genius of the mind stood across from the prodigy of effort, looking him over and evaluating the boy with the spiky black hair. Finally the genius spoke, "The academy will reopen next week, but the path you've chosen to walk is not an easy one. Without magic, there will be few that'll recognize you as a shinobi. Every hurdle that you overcome will only serve to bring you closer to the next."

"I'll jump every last one of them until I've proven that I can be a great ninja, even if it's only to myself." the prodigy replied in a determined voice. "Not only my dream depends on it, but my life does as well! If I can't do this then there will be no reason to be alive!" he exclaimed as he made a fist and nodded his head sharply.

"…I see." Kakashi murmured calmly. A stray breeze played in his silver-hair, and with his hands tucked into his pockets, he gave off a tempered aura of relaxation and sobriety. After several long moments, Kakashi gave his next question, "Becoming a traditional ninja isn't a hobby, it's a lifetime of effort. Are you prepared to give it your all?"

"YES! I'm so full of youthful energy I'm about to explode, Kakashi-sensei!" Rock Lee exclaimed with so much force that it threatened to blow Kakashi right off his feet.

The jounin managed to keep his footing, and despite a ringing in his hears, nodded soberly. "Yes, I've noticed your explosive level of energy over the past few months I've helped you prepare. I also understand that I'm not your father or officially your teacher, but I feel compelled to give you a final test before you enter the academy."

"Please give me the test, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee urged excitedly, knowing that he'd implode if the anticipation wasn't abated.

"Follow me, Rock Lee; there's something I want to show you." Kakashi informed the child before turning on his heel and heading back towards Konoha.

"I…I'm on my way, Kakashi-sensei!!"

- Leaf's battle -

After one final alternation, Naruto, Neji and Tenten dropped the last of the bandits that had been focused on them. Using this brief moment of respite to catch her breath, Tenten complained in a worn tone to her teammates, "Why are there so many here? It's like a minor army!"

Neji let his breath out heavily, also feeling the effects of the oppressive heat and prolonged exertion. "According to Kaori-san, they had a night and a half to prepare their retaliation because of their advanced warning…" he replied knowledgably.

"So it'll take everything we have to pull through, then." Naruto commented, his voice carrying a note of fatigue, but resounding with a determined power that blew his teammates away. Just the way he spoke revitalized them and reaffirmed their resolve. "We can definitely do this, because we're Konoha's number one rookie team!"

Despite her exhaustion, Tenten gave a proud smirk, pleased with Naruto's growth. However, it was Neji who spoke, deciding that it was time to dole out orders. "Naruto, you go help that blonde girl, Temari; Tenten and I will assist Kankurou. They both need the close-range support that only we can give."

"Don't get killed, Neji. You got it?" Naruto demanded as he crouched, preparing to sprint to his destination, "I'll never get the chance to surpass you if you do." And without waiting for his answer, Naruto took off fast enough to send sand flying out behind him.

"We'll see, Naruto. We'll see…" Neji muttered softly. After glancing towards Tenten, he urged her to hurry and follow him; Kankurou wasn't doing so well on his own. It only took them a couple seconds to make it to the struggling boy, working to survive the five grown men that were left and their chuunin captain.

"Your doll has just about had it…" Tenten called as she and Neji fell in beside the Suna genin. Indeed, most if not all of Karasu's hidden weapons had been sliced off at the base by the ninja's inconceivably sharp wire; there had to be wind chakra surrounding it for it to be able to cut through the steel knives. "Quick, tell me how many things you can control at once." she urged.

"Grr… I was doing alright until this captain showed up!" Kankurou growled, feeling that his ego was being hit harder than he was. "He's whipped these common thugs into a worrisome force to be reckoned with!"

Neji delivered a Gentle Fist palm thrust into the intestine of an incoming poacher before scoffing and kicking the guy away from him. "Damn it… I don't have enough chakra left for another one of those. We all have to work together, Kankurou-san. The backbone of victory is teamwork!"

"…I can control six weapons at once." the darkly swathed ninja announced grudgingly.

"Coming right up!" Tenten announced as she dodged a bandit and set her foot on his thigh. As she pushed off and flew into the air, she whipped out a scroll and dragged her bloody thumb along a set of kanji. Seven weapons burst from the scroll, one of which she caught out of the air for her own use.

"Get the white-eyed boy! Kill the Hyuuga!" the chuunin with the garrote wire commanded as he swiped at a floating flail, which was spinning in the air with each twitch of Kankurou's fingers. He had to become accustomed to the new weapons attached to him through strings.

"Neji! You should turn off your Byakugan and conserve your chakra; I'll watch your back for you!" Tenten suggested confidently as she moved into place behind him with the spear she had caught. She wanted to try out the moves she had seen the spearman using, and now was the perfect chance!

"I trust you, Tenten…" Neji panted as his eyes returned to normal, though he remained in his Hyuuga-style stance.

"Blitz 'em! Rush them and kill 'em all!" the chuunin bellowed as he pulled a length of wire taut between his hands. It was now or never!

- A few sand dunes away -

Naruto sprinted through the sand towards the blonde that Neji had asked him to help. He couldn't help but feel that he'd made some sort of impact on the Hyuuga… that he had been directed this way because of his power. Whether that was true or not didn't matter, because just the thought of impressing someone strong spurred Naruto on, giving him energy and confidence.

He blasted over a sand dune, spotting Temari from mid-air as the chuunin reached up from the ground and clawed her ankles before vanishing to avoid her fan. He planned to rocket off the second that his feet touched so that he could close the distance between them, but something stopped him. It was nothing physical, but rather some intuition buried deep, deep down; almost silenced by the torrent of energy lancing through his body.

Temari, panicked and suffering from blood loss, swung her fan randomly at the ground, hoping to get lucky and hit the chuunin. Suddenly there was activity to the left, so the kunoichi twisted and whipped a powerful blast of wind at the source; to her regret it turned out to have been an explosive tag attached to a dead poacher. Unfortunately, this meant that she had fallen into her foe's trap with her arms still in the air!

"Oh, too bad for you!" the chuunin laughed as he zipped out from hiding and thrust forward with his claws, determined to gouge out her side. Knowing that she couldn't counter in time, Temari pinched her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable…

"Seishuun!" someone in green shouted as they streaked out from behind a dune. It was Naruto, and he had waited for the perfect opportunity to perform a surprise strike! When he made it up to the chuunin, whose fingernails had already drawn blood from the girl's side; Naruto jumped and performed a back flip, bringing his heel up into the Sand's jaw with enough force to throw him into the air.

Naruto landed in a crouch, drawing his sai and twirling them skillfully as he glared at the injured chuunin; Temari had managed to clip him a couple times, but not enough to deal much damage.

"Grah!" the chuunin growled as he bounced off of the sand and rolled into a crouch of his own, one hand in the sand the other on his jaw. "Oh, you'll pay for that, Konoha-shinobi…" he threatened coldly, directing as much murderous intent at him as he could.

Ignoring the chuunin for the moment, Naruto spoke to Temari, "I don't know how you guys do it in Suna, but in Konoha we work as a team. So let's try it together, ok?" Naruto continued, sounding confident even through his fatigued voice. "I'll keep him busy; shout 'Konoha' when you see your chance and I'll get out of the way."

"…It's better than dying, I guess…" Temari grumbled, her chest rising sharply due to her heavy breathing. "I'll use my strongest attack, so make sure you can get away."

"…" Naruto blinked in surprise. "He just dove into the sand like water…"

"It's a genjutsu!" Temari explained quickly, "He's dug a series of tunnels under the surface and covers the entrances with illusory sand that emulates water."

"Kisama…" Naruto swore under his breath. If anything, genjutsu was his weakest skill.

- Konoha -

Walking as calmly as ever, Kakashi rounded a corner, followed closely by Lee. The excited young boy had an epiphany as soon as he recognized the street, "Ah! This district is well known for its hot springs! Are we going to use the water resistance to add power and speed to our kicks?" Lee asked as he spastically kicked out, using an attack that Gai had shown him.

"…Now that you mention it, that would help with taijutsu." Kakashi mentioned, not revealing if the boy had been right or wrong.

"No, I know what it is! We're going to train under a waterfall to improve our stamina and resilience, right!?" Lee exploded excitedly, paying no attention to the weird look Kiba had just given him, agreeing with whatever Akamaru had barked.

"I don't really like getting wet. Besides, we're almost there." Kakashi mentioned, offering a concealed smile to the exuberant boy.

"Ok! I can wait, but I'm interested in where we're going!" Lee admitted, ignoring Hinata as she made the same disturbed and confused look that Kiba had given.

"Are you really?" Kakashi asked, smoothly dodging the question. "It won't be too much longer; we're almost there now."

"Alright! I'm going to explode from anticipation, but I'll wait until we get there!" Lee announced with a sharp nod and a sparkly grin eerily reminiscent of Gai-sensei.

- Ten minutes later -

Finally Kakashi came to a stop in the same grove that they had started from. They had been walking through Konoha for two hours, all the while Lee with guessing where they'd go and what kind of training they could do there. "Ah, we've arrived at our destination." Kakashi announced calmly.

"What? But this is where we started, Kakashi-sensei. Wasn't there something you wanted to show me?"

Suddenly the wind seemed to stop and a strange coldness seemed to exude from the jounin. He turned his hardened eye on the boy before muttering, "Yes. Defend yourself!" Kakashi lunged at Lee's throat with a kunai!

- Back in the Wind country -

Neji gritted his teeth as a bandit managed to get around his exhausted guard and stab him in the shoulder; the Hyuuga had barely managed to turn his body to avoid a lethal blow at the last second. This alone nearly made Gai leap into the battle to save his precious students, but Neji demanded that he not get involved yet. "I'm sorry, but we can't depend on you forever, Gai-sensei."

"That was the last poacher." the Kazekage's first son announced as he slammed the spiked flail into the guy's head, killing him instantly. "But there's still that nukenin…" the boy of the desert muttered, nodding towards the chuunin.

Gnashing his teeth, the runaway ninja glared at the children. His leader had told him that there would be a team of ANBU hunters sent to dispose of the bodies, the fallen ANBU and theirs alike. For this they had taken the strongest of the bandits they had trained to defeat the Sand ANBU. He had never imagined that Konoha would team up with the Sand against them… the hidden Leaf was notorious for producing mighty youngsters! Was it time to flee? '_Yes, but that Hyuuga is out of chakra. I should keep him from being a hassle_."

"Neji!" Tenten cried as the chuunin made a mad dash towards the weary genius, skillfully weaving between the flying weapons and pulling them aside with his wire as he ran.

"Stay back! I don't have the chakra for Jyuken…" Neji panted as he lowered his stance, holding his left arm to the ground and his right out behind him, "But just enough for…" The chuunin made it to Neji and flicked one of his wind-chakra garrote wire lengths at him like a whip. "Hakke Ni Sho!" The Hyuuga twisted and touched his fingers to the middle of his foe's flak jacket. "Yon Sho!" he called as he spread his fingers and touched four different places.

"No, you don't!" the nukenin growled as he threw his wire out in an arc.

"Hachi Sho, Juu-roku Sho!" Neji chanted as he twirled and came up behind the chuunin, his arms blurring as he first touched 8 times, then 16 more to close the gates in his back. Uttering a growl, the nukenin swiped the garrote whip randomly, managing to put deep cuts on Neji's cheek and left thigh. "This is all I have left… Nijuu-shichi Sho!" he gasped as he closed the last 27 gates that he could.

"Drop the weapons and get Neji out of there!" Tenten demanded as she hefted two large shuriken.

'_Why didn't I think of that_…?' Kankurou growled to himself as he canceled his jutsu. "I was planning on it already, brat!" he lied as he connected lines to Neji. With a familiar series of finger wiggles, Kankurou lifted the Hyuuga off of the ground and pulled him to safety; though because it was a jutsu he'd developed for Karasu, Neji came to in land on the puppeteer's back.

Too busy to notice the comical scene, Tenten flicked her arms out and launched the shuriken at the Sand chuunin, who was unable to move thanks to Neji's attack. It was over for him!

- Konoha -

Kakashi struck repeatedly at Lee, utilizing complex feints, combos and set-ups to force the prodigy to duck and weave with all of his might. Unfortunately he only lasted 33 seconds before Kakashi stopped his knife a centimeter from the boy's right eye.

"You're… too fast, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee said in awe, admitting his defeat.

"I'm going to ask you the question now, the one that'll determine your fate with me." Kakashi announced as he returned his weapon to its holster, watching as Lee shut his eyes and took a deep breath; mentally preparing himself for the most important question in his life. "Why did you lose so quickly?"

Lee frowned at the question, thinking that the answer was obvious; Kakashi was a jounin and he wasn't even a genin yet. He began to give that reason, but realized something as the air was pushed out of his lungs. He bit his tongue to silence himself. Ignoring the buzzing pain and metallic taste of blood, Lee went back over the fight. "Those attacks aren't that much faster than normal… I should have been able to last 1000 times as long; but I slowed down early."

"Yes, you did. Do you know why?" the genius prompted, his lazy eye gazing into Lee's huge, round ones.

"It was the walk!" the black-haired student cried, nearly imploding from the realization of the test. "You were as calm as a scarecrow, bur for two hours I was wasting my energy guessing where we were going. I tired myself out and didn't have enough energy left when you attacked me."

"So you understand it now?" Kakashi wondered as he leaned closer, his hands still in his pockets. "Do you know what the point of this test was, Rock Lee?"

"Was it… to show me not to waste my energy because I'll need it later?" he guessed, feeling as if his heart was beating in his ribcage in an attempt to get out and flee the scene. "That's why Kakashi-sensei is so calm? To save your energy for a fight?"

"You're absolutely correct!" Kakashi cheered calmly, smiling under his mask as he stood up and set his hand on Lee's shoulder. "I guess you could equate it to an exploding tag. You save the burst of fire for when it's most necessary; otherwise it's a meaningless waste."

"I see!" Lee uttered as his round eyes widened and it clicked in his mind. "I'll try to save my youthful energy for when it's required. I want to be just like Kakashi-sensei!"

"…just like me?" Kakashi murmured, allowing a chill to run through him. '_Only Maito Guy would enjoy having a young clone_…'

"Yes! I'm going to be…!" Lee stopped talking and bonked himself in the head. After shaking it, he corrected himself. "…yes. Like Kakashi-sensei." he said in a bored, casual tone.

'_This might have been a bad idea_…'

- Wind country -

"Gyaa!" Naruto cried out as his back was ripped open by small, iron spikes; the genjutsu using nukenin had leapt out of his hole and clawed the boy. "You think that'll scare me!?" the blonde roared as he turned his sai and jabbed backwards with them, forcing the young adult to hop backwards to avoid them. Naruto waited for the guy to jump before launching himself backwards and spinning in mid-air, "Konoha Whirlwind!"

"Guh!" the chuunin grunted as he struck the ground again, rolling to his feet to stop his skid. "Damn it… no one uses sai anymore, how am I supposed to know how to counter them!?"

"That's the point, dumb ass!" Naruto sneered as he posed with the steel weapons.

"Grrrrah!" the criminal roared as he dove into a hole, narrowly dodging a blast of wind from Temari.

"Hah… hah…" Temari breathed heavily, "The shinobi of Suna train for individual skill; we're very strong, even when alone."

"Gai-sensei told me that teamwork is better than individual skills." Naruto commented, just out of breath as his ally. "We need to make some sort of team attack! So we'll do this…"

"No time for that!" the chuunin taunted as he rose from the ground, spraying sand everywhere as he created a new hole to come up from unexpectedly. Naruto's chest sprayed blood; he'd been hit!

Rather than falling to his knees in defeat, Naruto gnashed his teeth and roared in anger, throwing himself at the chuunin and swinging his sai wildly at him. Temari watched as the two traded blows, sending out sparks as their weapons struck and spraying blood as stray blows hit flesh.

After clawing Naruto in the face and backing off, the chuunin muttered, "One more pass should finish you off, brat!" before performing a backwards somersault. He grunted as he landed on his hands and flipped back to his feet; but before he could be hit by wind, he threw himself to the side to leap feet-first into a different hole, writing the first off as a simple cave in. It happened sometimes. But not twice in a row; this time his feet sank in the sand. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

"Good work, Temari-chan!" Naruto cried, grinning slyly at the chuunin.

"I thought it was you!" the girl shot back.

"It wasn't me! I can't control sand!" Naruto exclaimed wildly, taking his attention off of the enemy to stare back at Temari.

"Control… sand?" Temari muttered softly, slowly coming to a realization. "Gaara?" Lo and behold, the redhead could just barely been seen off to the right, crouching in the valley between two sand dunes with his left hand sunk into the sand and his other forming a seal of concentration. Most importantly, the cork in his gourd was off.

"Don't waste time." Gaara demanded, snapping Temari back to reality.

"Oh! _Konoha_!" she cried, alerting Naruto to his plan as she filled her war fan with chakra. Upon hearing the codeword, Naruto dashed off and hid behind a sand dune; he'd seen what the girl was capable of and didn't want to be caught in her strongest attack. When he was out of the way, and with Gaara holding the nukenin, Temari began to spin in place. She performed five full rotations, causing sand to be picked up by the air current and swirl around her, floating like a cloud of dust.

Finally, Temari turned her fan so that it faced vertically and shouted, "Suna hiden: Kurinuku na sunaarashi!" The Sand secret: Gouging sandstorm was a drill made of wind-chakra and sand used to shred through large numbers of enemies. The drill howled like like a demon as it corkscrewed towards the hapless nukenin, staring at the jutsu in a cold terror.

- Preview -

Do the enemy runaways survive? The nukenin's presence is explained! And now that Lee has gone back to the academy, what will Kakashi do with his spare time?


	8. Might Girl

**Chapter 08: Might Girl!**

- Recap -

The noble green beast of Konoha had with great pride and excitement announced to his cute little pupils that they wouldn't do any more D-rank missions; the first mission since the decision asked them to deliver a list of names for the genin that Konoha was sending to Suna for the chuunin selection exam.

Much to their surprise, the Suna-shinobi contacts were late. It was later discovered that they had an unexpected visitor, who claimed a group of nukenin had killed her ANBU partners and had captured their bodies. So, in cooperation with the Sand, Gai's team went to retrieve the corpses!

They were beset by an army of bandits, poachers and highwaymen; and before they had defeated them all, two Suna runaways appeared to care for the situation. These chuunin were NOT pushovers…

- Wind Country -

Temari turned her fan to the side to blast the wind and sand that she had collected towards the trapped nukenin, shouting, "Sand secret: Gouging Sandstorm!" as she did.

The as of yet unnamed chuunin cried out and crossed his arms over his face, dreading the horrible moment that he would be drilled through and killed in the messiest way possible. With his eyes pinched shut, he didn't see something brown zip in front of him and perform a lightning fast series of seals.

"Suna hiden: Kurinuku na sunaarashi!" a man with a deep voice cried, commanding the wind to pick up the loose sand around him and spiral towards the incoming fang. The pair of drills struck somewhat closer to the men than Temari and howled as they ground against each other, neither one making any headway; Baki had perfectly matched the power that Temari had put into the attack, which was evidence of his incredible skill at ninjutsu. Finally both attacks lost speed and slowed to a stop, leaving nothing but swirling patterns in the sand where they had been.

"Ba…Baki-sensei!?" Temari gasped in surprise upon seeing her teacher.

"Release him, Gaara." Baki commanded in a gruff voice without glancing towards the boy. The red-head could have easily crushed the chuunin with his own power, but he had been curious to see what teamwork was like. He didn't particularly like it, especially with Baki leaping in the way and halting the killing blow, but in accordance with his teacher's order, the red-head pulled his hand out of the ground and commanded his chakra-infused sand to return to the gourd he wore on his back.

Before the chuunin could make a break for it, Baki's left hand shot out and caught the man out of the air by the front of his flak jacket and held him off of his feet. The jounin then pointed the first two fingers on his right hand at the nukenin and channeled enough wind-chakra into them to allow them to cut. "Don't think that we'll spare you if you resist."

"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto wondered curiously, watching the Sand ninjas glaring at each other. "Do you want to help beat the crap out of him too, Mr. Baki?" he finished with a grin as he eagerly spun the sai in his hands. He was looking forward to seeing what a jounin could do.

Temari sighed at Naruto's naivety and decided to be nice and explain the situation, "We need to interrogate him, kid."

"Correct." The jounin replied stiffly, "Now, let's meet up with Maito Gai so that we can interrogate Chimaru and his partner as to why they were guarding this abandoned facility."

"So you know my name, but that won't change much, Baki of the Sand! Go ahead and interrogate me, but I know very little as it is! Take me to Suna and try me for treason; it won't matter because…"

Futhunk! The chuunin let out a low groan before hanging lax in Baki's grip, finally silenced. From behind him, after having used it as a club, Temari grinned as she slid her giant fan into her belt. "He was getting annoying, wasn't he?" the teenaged girl chuckled sinisterly.

Naruto gulped at the terrifying kunoichi…

- Further down -

Tenten stared in wonder when none other than Gai-sensei materialized in front of the Sand ninja she had been attacking and deftly caught the shuriken out of the air. Before the chuunin could react, Gai jerked his arm back and slammed his elbow into the man's face, shuriken still in hand. With a pained grunt, the man toppled back and fell into the sand; he was still conscious but hurting badly.

Neji let out his breath and sank to the ground in relief; he had been worried that they would run out of chakra or weapons and die, but Gai had shown up at the last second. Despite his arrogant outlook, he knew that Gai was a jounin, so the man should understand the situation far more than the genin.

"Why did you step in, Konoha-shinobi?" Kankurou growled testily, glaring at the man that had wounded his ego. It was bad enough that he needed help from the Leaf genin, but to have their teacher step in too was going too far! "He could be dead by now!"

Kaori looked up from binding the gagged chuunin with rope and scoffed angrily, "And then what? As much as I want Nova dead, we won't get any information from him if we kill him." The nukenin mumbled something unintelligible through his gag upon the mention of his name, and though no one knew what he had said, they could tell by his murderous look that he wasn't pleased.

"We should also get out of the sun before we burn up!" Gai suggested mightily. "Our spirits are like a burning passion, but our bodies aren't accustomed to the desert sun."

By the time they had their prisoner tied and gagged; Temari had led Gaara and Naruto to the top of a sand dune to look down upon the others. Baki, who had taken the rear position with the unconscious genjutsu user hung over his left shoulder, same to a stop between his genin and carefully regarded the situation. Finally, he gave his orders, "Temari, Kankurou; set the spare tent up here. We don't have time to return to the other, not if the criminals have already studied the ANBU bodies. Be quick about it!"

"Yes, Baki-sensei!" the two teens called in unison.

As Temari jogged down the incline of sand, Neji looked from one prisoner to the other before coming to a realization. "We should interrogate them separately. It's possible that they could work in tandem to tell a believable lie."

"Ok!" Gai announced strongly, "I'll watch the prisoner while my wonderful students build the tent." The man in green let out his breath as he looked up in the sky and wiped his brow with the back of his hand, "Take your time, my pupils; there's no need for a challenge in this heat."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" Tenten breathed a sigh of relief. She'd already pushed her body beyond what she believed her limit was. "I still need to gather all of my weapons, too…"

- Konoha -

Kakashi sighed when Lee finally dashed off. Ever since the boy had made his decision to copy the Copy ninja, he'd been following Kakashi around, mimicking the jounin's every move. The exuberant lad even went so far as to find a ninja book of shinobi fables and would read it as he walked with Kakashi and kept his energy focused and reserved.

This was what equated to training; Kakashi would be himself and Lee would go to great lengths to emulate and learn from him. It worked well because Kakashi didn't have to put forth much effort, and Lee had more than enough spirit to learn from the genius. But now that the academy was reopening, Lee would focus on his schoolwork more, giving Kakashi the break he's been eagerly awaiting.

"I don't see how Gai does it… having one student is tiresome; three must be exhausting." the silver-haired jounin murmured.

"Gai-sensei has more than enough energy to deal with them, Kakashi-san!" a woman said with a giggle.

Kakashi turned to see a kunoichi wearing the usual Konoha uniform and a smile; this woman was a chuunin-level kunoichi that had been teamed with Gai since they were children. "Good afternoon, Kurenai-san." he greeted casually.

"Hi!" the woman returned with a wink. "But there's something I wanted to ask you, now that your shadow has left." Kakashi stared at the woman blankly, wordlessly urging her on now that she'd piqued his curiosity. "Do you want to go on a date sometime, Kakashi-san?"

"A… date…?" the jounin blinked in surprise.

"We're both adults; we should be past coy and bashful." Kurenai explained sensibly as she gestured towards the silent jounin with her dainty hand, "Neither of us has much to do, so let's go have some fun. Maybe something will come of it."

Finally Kakashi found his voice and gave a small smile, "I'm a really boring guy… you should ask Asuma-san."

"No, he's off on a mission or I would have. Come on, Hatake, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"…"

Kurenai frowned and sighed heavily, "What was I thinking… you've always been this way. Even when Rin was still alive…"

For a moment Kakashi looked saddened by the very mention of his old teammate's name. But by bringing her up, it reminded Kakashi of one of the many promises that he'd made to the memorial stone in his teammate's honor. "You're right, Kurenai-san; there isn't much else to do. I should spend my time with a beautiful woman rather than read a book."

The chuunin giggled softly at his words as she reached out and took Kakashi's hand. "It won't be a hassle, trust me!"

"…" Kakashi allowed himself to be led off.

- Land of Wind -

The Leaf ninja's tent consisted of four steel poles painted back with a large green tarp draped over the top; one of the sides had been folded up to be used as an entrance. The tent was large enough to shade Team Gai, Kaori and all of the surviving criminals.

While Naruto helped Tenten find whatever weapons weren't buried under the scorching sand, Neji sat on his knees behind their captive, watching to make sure he wasn't trying to escape. The ANBU woman, Kaori, stood before the chuunin with an open book in her hands and a grim expression on her face. After a moment she glared up at the man, "His name is Daibaku Shinsei, but he goes by the alias 'Nova'. What exactly were you doing in the abandoned medical facility?"

Now with his gag removed, Nova paused in contemplation, as if deliberating on whether he should answer. After several long seconds he put on a laid back demeanor and chuckled, "I can tell you what I was doing there personally, but that won't answer your true question."

"Tell me."

"Well, I fell on hard times and needed money badly, but what self-respecting ninja would get a job?" Nova replied with a sneer. "So I began to hire myself out as a bodyguard for shady merchants and bandit caravans. It wasn't until later that I was found by my current contractor."

Kaori grimaced, because she knew that he was telling the truth, if a little vaguely. After a quick glance towards Gai, she took a deep breath before asking her next question. "Did you teach any ninja techniques to those men out there?" she asked as she jabbed her thumb towards the exit of the tent.

Taken off guard by the sudden change in the direction of questioning, Nova blinked in surprise before murmuring, "You can't teach ninjutsu to poachers in a single year…"

Neji grinned at the admission, personally impressed that she had managed to trick information from the man's tight lips. "But they _did_ display some knowledge of military tactics; as many bandits as there were, you could never do anything on that level with just three ninjas. How many shinobi has your contractor hired?"

"Che… you bastards are crafty alright." Nova scoffed as he clenched his hands into fists and relaxed them several times in frustration. "There are eighteen of us in all. As I'm sure this bitch has told you, I'm teamed with two others; the other fifteen are free agents, paid to do their own individual tasks."

Kaori nodded in understanding. The situation in Suna was bad, and it was getting worse as time went on. "Was this contractor of yours born in the country of Wind?"

"That won't work on me twice, woman." Nova sneered cruelly, "I'm not dropping my guard again!" This reply caused the ANBU to glare, angered that her ploy had been neutralized so quickly.

Kaori paused for a moment of deliberation. She was a tracking specialist, but interrogation was a common skill required of the ANBU; but she knew that she was up against a crafty and intelligent prisoner. She had to phrase her questions carefully, so she asked, "As I understand it, you would sell the bodies of my teammates to the highest bidder, right? Amegakure would pay handsomely for the secrets of a major military village."

"I'm not selling anything to anyone; I just guard those that do. Besides, handling ninja corpses is Toria's thing. It's not honest work, but it pays very well." Nova replied. He was very subtly mixing fibs and misdirection with the truth; and in this way he planned to slowly steer his interrogators towards an outright, but believable lie. "But as far as I know the bodies haven't been studied yet; they'll need to be moved to a secret location and stored until my employer hires a forensic specialist."

Suddenly Gai turned his head and stared out at the sand dunes, glaring at the sand. Neji noticed his teacher's behavior and worried that one of the other ninja's tasks was eliminating prisoners to keep them silent, asked his teacher if anything was amiss. Gai made an affirming sound as he turned his attention back to Nova to mention, "You claimed that a 'Toria' handled ninja corpses; so it would stand to reason that there are scientists in your contractor's employ."

"Right." Kaori said with a nod of agreement, "What we have is a large number of poachers who have hired several upper-level Sand ninjas, have occupied an abandoned medical station and work under a single employer." With Nova glaring at their deductive reasoning, Kaori cocked her head to one side in thought, letting her bushy brown hair spill across her left shoulder. "This area of the desert is home to deadly asps, venomous scorpions and hallucinogenic cacti; a group of scientists is ideal to refine these things into poisons or medicines."

While keeping his well-trained eyes on Nova's hands, Neji gave his thoughts, "It sounds as if this was the machination of a crime syndicate or otherwise insidious organization. All of these clues lead to the assumption that there's an evil plot afoot."

"Call it whatever you like; evil or benevolent, but what we're planning will bring a lot of money back into Suna! So rather than Konoha stealing food from our mouths or forcing us to live in the streets, we'll be able to…"

Suddenly a woman's voice mysteriously floated into the tent, "Ah, your misdirection skills are as sharp as ever, Shinsei-chan; but it's not necessary now."

Gai threw himself out of the tent and spun as he landed, in this way he scanned the horizon without showing an opening. After a moment he spoke again, "You must be the assassin sent to silence our captive. Neji, use your amazing ability!"

Already on his feet, the Hyuuga did as asked and activated his Byakugan. Because of this, he was able to see Naruto and Tenten preparing to assault the hidden threat the moment she showed herself; but more importantly he saw Nova shift and place the edge of a concealed kunai against his bindings. "Kaori-san! Are you capable of holding this guy off in your condition?"

Kaori nodded as she blurred and appeared behind their prisoner and placed a serrated kodachi to the man's throat, "The poison on this blade will dramatically raise your body temperature; if you attempt to flee, even at the cost of my life I'll avenge my teammates by killing you at the same time!"

"I'll watch your back, Gai-sensei!" Naruto announced as he landed neatly behind his teacher and pulled out his sai. "Tenten went to tell Baki-san about the attack!"

"Ok! We're ready for you, assassin! Prepare to face the dual threat of Konoha's green pair, Maito Gai and Uzumaki Naruto!" the jounin demanded powerfully as his eyes scanned the area.

Coming to a stop in the open flap of the tent, the Hyuuga genius had a flash of insight before performing a hand seal to focus his attention on his task; he was going to penetrate the ground to see if he could find the hidden threat before she struck. After a second his Byakugan intensified and he moved into a combat stance, "It's a middle-aged woman 49 degrees to your right; she's hiding inside the largest sand dune!"

"Bah… you Konoha-shinobi are too skilled for your own good! But now that Daiya-taichou is here, you're all lost! Even with help from that team of Sand shinobi!"

As the man spoke, the sand dune in question began to loosen and sift away. After several tense seconds, a woman wearing a turban let out a small chuckle as the sun glinted off of her Suna hite-ate. "So, the girl managed to find help after all. How fortunate for you, dear, that you happened across such a mighty force."

"Oh, god…" Kaori moaned when she recognized the woman's face, "She's indisputably the single strongest kunoichi in all of Hidden Sand." she explained as the dune continued to sift away. "Daiya-san is said to be on the same level as the Kazekage and claims the title of Right Hand of the Wind. This is because of her mastery of the Sand village's unique style of taijutsu, which she mixes with wind manipulation."

"This old woman is as strong as the Kazekage…" Naruto breathed shallowly, all too aware of how far out of his league she was. He began to shake.

Gai's face hardened as he regarded the woman, who was now completely out of the sand. She wore a turban which bore the symbol of her village on the front and had a length of cloth hanging from the back to protect her neck from the sun; her eyes were an eerie grey hue, which completely contrasted with her dark complexion and black hair. Daiya was dressed in an earthen brown trench coat with her zipped Suna flack jacket over it. One could consider her to be the female version of Gai! "This could be interesting, because I myself have improved the Leaf style martial arts!"

"Halt!" Baki cried as he and the rest of his team jogged to a stop nearby. "You children guard the prisoners while Maito Gai and I fight."

"No way!" the blonde screamed defiantly as he widened his stance and glared at Daiya. "I'm not afraid of her at all! I'm going to be the Hokage one day, so I can't ever back down, even if she's my opponent!"

"Now isn't the time for that, Naruto!" Tenten cried urgently, "Please do as you're told this time!" Her tone belied her concern for her teammate. "You've already been hurt pretty badly today, any more and…"

Before she could finish, sand wrapped around Daiya and contracted around her, pinning her arms and legs to her sides. In answer to her gasp, Gaara slowly rose from the sand from behind the woman, grinning darkly. "I've got you in my desert coffin now. My mother demands blood, and yours is very strong."

"Sabaku no Gaara." Daiya stated evenly. She didn't bother trying to see him because she knew he was in her blind spot. Instead she chuckled at the boy, "Not bad, boy. But my father, the Sandaime Kazekage, taught me all about these sand attacks." And to prove her point, Daiya exploded out of the sand coffin and landed heavily in the sand beside her, sending up a plume of dust. "It could be dangerous fight all of you, even for someone like myself." she mentioned as Gaara glared and lowered his arm, "But I didn't come here to fight; I need to inform you of something important, Baki-san."

Though he had been surprised about her escape and following statement, he hadn't dropped his guard for a second. "Stand down for now, Gaara." he commanded the boy, who merely glared and crossed his arms. With that taken care of, the jounin demanded to know what the Kazekage's teammate wished to say.

"As you know, I left Suna seven years ago to guard the Country of Wind's emperor, but I've returned once every year on the day that my teammate was elected as the Yondaime Kazekage out of respect for him." Daiya gave a small grin, "But I seem to have fallen in with a bad crowd; a criminal organization was hiring bodyguards and paid several times more than I was getting."

"You can't mean…" Baki growled dangerously before shooting a glance towards his team, who were standing over their prisoner as directed. The man had begun to chuckle through his gag.

"Mm. I don't plan on visiting my teammate ever again, because I'm done with Suna! But I believe you were after this?" Daiya mentioned as she removed her turban and flicked out her dark hair before withdrawing a scroll from inside. "I kept both sealed corpses with me to protect their secrets; think of it as a final act of honor and respect. But first, I'll ask that you…"

"I think I get it." Neji called confidently from the opening in the tent, giving a small knowing grin, "You're trading the corpses for your partners; a two for two trade."

Daiya suddenly gave a hearty laugh and grinned smugly, "You'd think that, but I only care about my lover, Shinsei-chan. You can do whatever you like with Chimaru; I hate that bastard anyway!" At her words, Chimaru began to flail and thrash against his bonds, enraged that he was being treated this way.

Within the tent, Kaori took a deep breath as she gazed over the crowd, thinking the situation through carefully. Thankfully she had many years of training as an elite ninja, so she felt confident about her decision. Moving quickly she sheathed her kodachi and shoved Nova away from her, hissing for him to get out of her sight; he complied by dashing to his girlfriend's side. Once again Chimaru shouted through his gag and thrashed in Kankurou's grip, but he was heartlessly ignored.

"Good choice! I love the smart ones almost as much as I love Nova!" Daiya-taichou remarked with a laugh and a smug grin. "Now for my end of the bargain." she called as she tossed the scroll to the closest ninja to her, but before anyone caught the sealed scroll, Daiya and Nova began to sink into the loose sand. "Ah, I guess I won't need this anymore;" the jounin called as she dropped her turban, Suna plate and all, into the sand beside her, "I plan to give myself fully to Gatou Industries. Goodbye, now!"

- Konoha -

Hinata was wandering the streets of the village, hoping to find a present for her father as a sort of peace offering to apologize for disappointing him so badly. So far she hadn't found anything that would appease the head of her entire clan, and she felt that it was simply beyond her grasp. "Sigh… I'm just no good at anything, am I?"

"Hime!" a wild-eyed boy urged as he appeared from the girl's right and took her hand in his, "Hime, I've found you!" The boy was dressed in a blue shirt with a green tank top thrown over it as well as matching pants, fingerless gloves and a mask that covered the lower half of his face.

"Excuse me?" Hinata gasped in mild surprise, "Do you mean… me?"

"Yes, princess." the boy admitted, "His Majesty the king has hired me to retrieve the restless princess and return her home. I'm the elite shinobi, Rock Lee, here to escort the beautiful princess to the castle!" Lee explained earnestly as he released the girl's hand to give her a thumbs-up gesture.

"Oh!" Hinata gasped as she clapped her right fist into her left palm in realization, "This is a ninja game!" The Hyuuga heir then gave a cute giggle and smiled, "I'll play with you, Rock Lee; though I'm not sure if I can do a very good job."

"You'll do great as the cute princess! But we must hurry, your highness; the king of thieves is trying to kidnap you!" Lee exclaimed urgently before grabbing the girl's hand and pulling Hinata towards an alley.

"Kyaa! Please take good care of me, Shinobi-san!" Hinata plead cutely, playing along with the game and smiling in amusement.

"I'll protect you even if it costs my life!" Lee said, quoting a line from his book of ninja fables. This caused Hinata to giggle girlishly as she was dragged by the hand towards an unfamiliar road. After dodging through the streets, Lee led her to his own house and paused in the doorway to announce, "Mission complete. You're safe now, Hime-sama!"

"My name is Hyuuga, Hyuuga Hinata." the girl mentioned, not bothering to conceal her playful smile.

"Ok, Hinata-hime! But this is the part of the story that I don't really understand; the princess says, 'Oh, you're my hero!' and gives him a kiss…" Lee muttered thoughtfully.

"Eep! N…no, I'm not ready for that yet!" Hinata gushed bashfully, blushing as red as a tomato. "A…and I'm saving myself for… for Naru…"

"Mm, but it might be difficult with this mask on, and Kakashi-sensei has never taken it off…" Lee continued, not having heard Hinata's mumbling. "So we'll skip that part!"

Hinata sighed in relief moments before her face fell. "I had a lot of fun playing with you, but if you don't want me around anymore… I'd understand." she muttered softly, showing just how badlt she had been hurt by her father's harsh words.

"Please!" Lee gasped suddenly, startling the poor, shy girl, "I would be honored if Hinata-san would keep playing with me!" he spouted quickly.

"Ah! Well, ok then!" Hinata replied, giggling softly with her hands pressed daintily to her mouth. For the first time she felt accepted and wanted… it was the best feeling she had ever had.

"Thank you, Hinata-san!" Lee cried as he lurched forward and impulsively pulled the pale girl into a tight, affectionate hug. The bashful girl went rigid, turned from white to red in a matter of seconds and seemed to expel steam from her ears at the spontaneous gesture. Her shame was so great that she couldn't even breathe, let along speak!

After several seconds Lee pulled away and snapped his fingers, "Ok! I still have some energy to burn off, so let's play an action game this time, Hinata-san!"

"Uhm… ok…" the white-eyed heiress mumbled, furiously trying to regain her composure by leaning heavily against the doorway to his house. "Like what?"

"My favorite: assassination!" Lee announced with a raised thumb. "Kakashi-sensei is always surprised when I sneak up on him, so let's team up against him this time!"

"Ha…hai!" Hinata exclaimed as she hopped playfully in place and clenched both of her hands into fists, "I'll see what I can do!"

- Elsewhere in Konoha -

Kakashi blinked before glancing towards Kurenai; she had just spontaneously grabbed his arm and pulled him closer so that she could interlock their limbs as they walked. The woman grinned before laying her head on his shoulder and mentioning, "It's a mystery if you're cute because of the mask, but you're very calm and collected. You seem like a very stable and reliable husband!"

Kakashi went rigid as he murmured, "…husband? That's going a bit too far, isn't it?"

Kurenai giggled, "I was just getting your reaction, and it was a good one, too!" With that said the woman released his arm and backed off, though she continued to grin mischievously. "You're kind of boring to be with, Kakashi-san."

"…"

Kurenai sighed. "I wonder if Anko-san would go on a date with me."

"Anko-san!?" Kakashi gasped, taken by surprise once again. "She's also a woman! That would mean that Kurenai-san is…"

The chuunin kunoichi giggled again, "I tricked you! But that's what you get for reading that adult book of yours all day!" she reprimanded. "You should try to be friendly with real girls, it might surprise you how satisfying it can be compared to ink on paper."

"…" Kakashi sighed inwardly, wondering why all of these things were suddenly happening to him. Was it because Gai wasn't in the village and the balance of the universe must be maintained? Perhaps not, but regardless, these thoughts prevented the jounin from noticing his soon to be assassin sneaking up behind him.

Before either of the adults could speak, a boy dressed in blue and green cried out, "Time to die!" before landing on Kakashi's back and sinking the tip of his kunai into the grown man's shoulder.

"Hey, what in the world was that?" Kurenai demanded. Without a word, Kakashi ducked forward to throw the boy off of him and performed a beautiful flip kick as the kid fell, causing him to roll in the street to a crouched stop.

"I thank you for not going easy on me, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee replied graciously, "Your training is working wonders for me!"

"Rock Lee… I thought we were done with this now that the academy has…"

"Sensei? Were you helping this kid to train, Kakashi-san?" the kunoichi asked, raising her eyebrow curiously.

"Yes! And he's doing such a great job that I learned something amazing! Watch this!" Lee exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement any longer. "Because I'm emulating Kakashi-sensei, I can do…" Lee paused to crouch and grunt in effort. "Ninpou: Bunshin no jutsu!" There was a sudden explosion of smoke beside Lee, and when it cleared, there was a duplicate of the boy standing proudly for the entire world to see!

"You…!" Kakashi gasped in complete shock and surprise, "I taught you to… how!?"

- Preview -

Lee reveals his secret to ninjutsu to a shaken Kakashi! Also, the cycloptic jounin's date with Kurenai gets a little more… _steamy_! Stay tuned for more Naruto Neo!


	9. Of Masks and Heartbreak

Author's Note: The confusing time skips and meaningless beatings king of annoyed me, so I've decided to rewrite half of the chapter.

**Chapter 09: Of Masks and Heartbreak**

- Recap -

"Yes! And he's doing such a great job training me that I learned something amazing! Watch this!" Lee exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement any longer. "Because I'm emulating Kakashi-sensei, I can do…" Lee paused to crouch and grunt in effort. "Ninpou: Bunshin no jutsu!" There was a sudden explosion of smoke beside Lee, and when it cleared, there was a duplicate of the boy standing proudly for the entire world to see!

- Konoha -

Kakashi stared in total disbelief at the kid's accomplishment. Two weeks ago, Rock Lee had spent the morning crying and throwing rocks out into a lake. He couldn't use ninjutsu no matter how hard he tried, and was spitefully ridiculed because of it. Now he had performed a graduate level skill effortlessly!

'_Was it the survival training? Maybe when he changed in his diet to copy mine? Would that even have an effect?_' Kakashi thought fervently, completely baffled. And suddenly he figured it out. "I see. It was when I taught you not to waste your energy, wasn't it? I taught you to focus properly."

"No, you taught me something better than that, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee exclaimed smugly, "Ninjas use anything and everything around them to their fullest. I'll show you what I mean after I cancel this ninjutsu." the wild eyed boy urged in his best attempt at Kakashi's speech pattern.

Lee's clone burst violently when released, and when the smoke had cleared, a young girl stood where the bunshin had been. Though Kakashi was once again rendered speechless, Kurenai giggled when she realized what had happened. The preteen girl smiled before bowing to the adults as she greeted the two, "It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for playing along with our prank, though I'm sure that you saw through it from the beginning."

"You're wrong, Hinata-chan! You did a super job pretending to be my clone; we really fooled him!" Lee urged excitedly, thrilled that he had managed to pull a fast one on the jounin, "You were so good that you fooled me, too! I thought that I had really made a clone of myself!"

"Do you really think so?" Hinata asked softly as she bit her lip. While growing up, during her vulnerable and impressionable stage, Hinata heard her father's harsh words with startling clarity; and the saddest thing about it was that she was beginning to believe it to be true. "I couldn't have done a better job than anyone else." the hurting girl whispered before giving a polite bow to those present. "Anyway, I should be going back home… thank you for playing with me."

"Hey, wait!" Lee called as he grabbed for her arm, but he missed and was relegated to simply watching his new friend dash down the street. "Huh. Oh, well." Lee muttered in his best Kakashi impression. With a shrug, the 12 year old turned and called "I'll see you tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei. Enjoy your date!"

"He's right, let's get going!" Kurenai chuckled as she seized his arm and hugged it to her chest.

"…" Kakashi blinked once before falling in step beside the chuunin kunoichi at his side. '_Maito Gai had better return quickly; I don't know how much more of this I can take_...'

- The next day -

Today was the first day of the new school year, and Rock Lee had only just crossed through the door into Shizuhara-sensei's classroom. Normally, he'd be bursting with energy and loudly proclaim that this year things would be different. However, thanks to Kakashi's ingenious advice, he had learned to tame the roaring inferno of passion inside of him and save it for later.

So, with his nose deep in his ninja book, Lee promptly ignored the buzzing of the students and calmly made his way to his usual seat. Unfortunately for him, a group of mean spirited boys had been waiting for him; they were currently standing in a line, purposely barring his passage. "Well, if it isn't 'dumb as a Rock' Lee! We thought you'd done the smart thing and quit while you were ahead, but I guess we were wrong!"

Lee clenched his jaw under the mask, using every ounce of willpower that he had not to be drawn into a pointless brawl. 'What would Kakashi-sensei do? Or better yet, how would a traditional ninja solve this?'

In response, Kakashi's unofficial student went into action. Lee flicked his wrist and tossed the book into the air at such an angle that it arched over the leader's head, but before it could land, he rushed forward. Rather than attacking, the martial prodigy spun around the bully and placed his foot against the back of his knee. With a firm shove, Lee was propelled around so that he could finish his twirl and catch the book out of the air. Rock Lee grinned as he taunted his defeated classmate, "While I appreciate your humbleness, kneeling for me is not necessary."

"Wow! Did you guys see that!?" a student whispered to his neighbors as Lee continued on to his seat. Those that had seen 'it' turned and explained what had happened to those that hadn't, and before long everyone was talking about the little bird that had smashed into the window. Lee sat in his seat, totally ignored. But before the group of brats had a chance to get even with him, the door slid shut with a click.

"Forget the bird, class." a woman commanded as she strode down the right-hand edge of the room. When she got to the front of the class, she spun on the ball of her foot and clicked her heels at attention, instantly silencing her classroom so that she could speak. "Get out your 6th year combat handbooks; we're going to start over from the beginning."

- Later -

Shizuhara was a tall woman with straight, sandy-brown hair that curled up cutely at the ends and framed her rounded face; and over her emerald green eyes she wore a small pair of metal rimmed glasses. These she pushed further up on her nose with her left hand as she clapped the textbook she had been reading from shut, "Why don't we have a pop quiz now, hmm?" There was a collective groan of exasperation from most of the class room, primarily from the lazy or the stupid.

There was one boy, whoever, who made a firm salute with a determined face, "I'll answer any question you can ask, Shizuhara-sensei! Combat is my specialty, after all." he finished with a concealed grin. It had been difficult to refrain from shouting, but Lee was determined to be as calm and relaxed as his idol, Hatake Kakashi.

"Oh? You seem to be prepared for this, Rock Lee." the cute young teacher mentioned with a sly smile, "What have you been doing over the break to get such confidence? No, it's not important." Shizuhara cleared her throat and asked, "If you're alone and carrying a top-secret document, and come up against four opponents, all of whom have already surrounded you, what can you do to bring the scroll home? Yaguchi-san?" Lee's mouth dropped open, he had been passed over for his rival; Yaguchi was the boy that had been picking on him when he came in!

"Psh…" the brute scoffed amusedly as he leaned back in his chair and passed a knowing look to his friends. "Four to one, was it, teach?" the thug laughed confidently, "Well, I'd obviously throw down a smoke bomb and summon a clone. When they attack the illusion, I'll just run the other way and leave them behind. Easy."

Shizuhara-sensei made a small pout as she tapped the sixth year book against her palm. After a moment she turned to Lee and smiled, "Ok, you can show him up now."

Realization dawned on Lee's face when he figured out what the sly teacher was doing; she was seeing for herself how much he had improved since last year. With a thankful smile, the wild-eyed boy gave a firm salute and gave his answer, "Shizuhara-sensei, I cannot answer this question!"

"Hmm? Why not, Rock Lee?" the jounin prompted questioningly.

Ignoring Toria's jeer, Lee explained his reasons, "Shizuhara-sensei has not mentioned the surroundings, what weapons the attackers are using or their relative distance away. Without these parameters, a successful tactic cannot be formulated." He grinned under his mask, but refused to turn towards his rival.

Clap, clap, clap Shizuhara was smiling broadly as she clapped her hands together, pleased with the answer, "An excellent deduction, Rock Lee. As you can see, class; information is sometimes more important to a shinobi than fighting." The teacher then tapped her book again as she scanned the class for who'd answer the next question…

- After school -

Kakashi glanced up from his book when something landed directly beside him, coming to a stop in his blind spot. Thankfully for the boy, the jounin recognized his wannabe's scent well before anything dangerous happened. But something was a little different from their usual meetings. "I notice that you didn't attack me this time, Rock Lee." Kakashi mentioned as he calmly returned his attention to the adult book.

"Mm." the academy student acknowledged with a sharp nod. "Sometimes information is more important to a ninja than fighting. Please help me become great, I beg of you, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi glanced towards Lee, but paused for a moment when he noticed the numerous scratches and bruises adorning the lad. Finally his curiosity got the better of him and the elite ninja asked, "Did they do it because of the mask? Young children can be very irrational…"

"I made a foolish mistake, but I'm willing to learn from it. Teach me how to win without having to fight, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee begged, not taking his eyes off of his ninja fables book. He was forcing himself not to cry in front of the man he respected so much. The truth was that his rival had found him as he was leaving and, with the help of his four friends, proceeded to beat their outnumbered prey into the ground.

The lazy jounin sighed and snapped his book shut so that he could give the boy his full attention. "Rock Lee, now that you're in school there's no real reason that I should teach you; you should have your teacher show you something like that. I'm a free jounin, which means I failed the three students that came to me to be tested. I do appreciate your flattery, and it was interesting for a time, but I accomplished what I set out to do; I helped a child realize his future as a ninja." Kakashi blinked at Lee, who looked as if he would explode if he held in his tears any longer, "I'm sorry that this is so harsh, but I can't be your teacher any longer."

Lee opened his mouth, but the only thing that came out was a choked gasp. After a couple seconds of wrestling with himself, the boy nodded to Kakashi and took off at a run with his feet feeling like lead and his footfalls sounding like thunder in his ears.

Kakashi sighed heavily as he watched Lee sprint away, knowing that the kid had lost control and began to cry. It would take several days to recover from this heartbreak, but the only thing that Kakashi could think to say was, "…maybe this is for the best…"

- The following week -

Today was Saturday, which meant that he did not have school. His classmates would be off playing Ninja Tag in the park, or eating ice-cream under the shade of a tree; Rock Lee, however, had something more pressing on his mind.

The intense little boy stared blankly into his full body mirror and glared at the scrawny imitation of Konoha's Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. Even as he blinked, he could hear the man's words ringing cruelly in his ears, but the time for tears had ended. With a sharp nod, Lee dragged his right thumb across his nose and sniffed through the mask toughly; a common act among small boys in Konohagakure.

It wasn't long before he'd informed his parents that he'd return for dinner and rushed out of the house. He didn't have a chance to run very far before running into the one person that kept him sane since the start of the school year and Kakashi's dreadful reprimand. "Ohayo-gozaimasu, Hinata-san!" He called cheerily, his day brightening as if sunlight had spontaneously erupted from the clouds to warm the day.

"Ohaiyo, Lee-san!" the brunette replied kindly, offering a cute bow to her friend. Over the past week the two had drawn closer together, often using each other to vent their mutual concern of failing as a ninja on. After the pleasant greeting, the two easily smiled and fell into a casual walk along one of Konoha's many dirt roads. As she followed her pillar of strength, the white-eyed girl began to recognize buildings and signs as they passed. "Excuse me, but can I ask you where we're going?"

Lee had been habitually reading from his ninja novel, a quirk that he had tried to drop despite how futile it was, before glancing up and giving his friend the full attention that she deserved. Both of his rather thick eyebrows rose upon realizing that he hadn't told her the good news. "Oh! I took Kakashi-san's advice and asked my teacher to help me overcome my disability, so Shizuhara-sensei has agreed to train me for a few hours on the weekends. I kind of asked if she could help you too… I hope that wasn't too forward of me."

Hinata fell silent, an act that Lee had carefully trained himself to catch. He was instantly standing in front of the Hyuuga heir in a deep bow, displaying the incredible speed that he had learned from Kakashi. "Lee-san…?" Hinata whispered softly, somewhat taken aback at having someone humble themselves before her.

"I'm very sorry, Hinata-san! I should have realized that you might reveal your secret family techniques. I don't dare imagine what horrible things he'd do to you for something like this! I am at fault for not thinking straight; please, forgive me!" he urged seriously, ignoring how the nosy pedestrians around them stopped to peek at them.

"…" Hinata shyly bit her lip, knowing that Lee was correct about her father's jealous protection of family secrets, but too timid to dare to speak about it aloud. What if word got back to him that she had badmouthed her own father in public? It was just unthinkable! However, before she even had the chance to pathetically apologize, a rather rambunctious, yet renowned voice seemed to echo through the street; and oddly enough the warm day seemed to turn chill and unwelcoming. It was the felling that the residents noticed that _he_ was around. '_Naruto…_'

"Aw, come on, sensei!" a boy known to all of Konoha exclaimed, causing Hinata to freeze in place and turn beet red. He continued on, oblivious to the cold, heartless stares that he was getting from the populace, "Do you see the hitai-ate on my forehead? That means that I'm a real ninja now, so I should be out training, not going back to the academy for…"

"Do you know the difference between you and me, Uzumaki?" Naruto's sensei quarried shortly, evidently having argued with his charge since they had met up earlier in the morning. Naruto scoffed, but couldn't answer the question; he _was_ Naruto after all. "My clothing is what's different, Uzumaki! I'm a mid-level shinobi, while you're still a genin…"

By this time, Naruto had passed Hinata, but not before noticing a familiar navy hair-cut and strange, empty eyes. The genin stopped and grinned at the girl, "Ah! I haven't seen Hinata-chan in a while!"

This only served to make her blush deeper, but it wasn't beyond her to greet her former classmate. "Ohayo, Naruto-kun…" she mumbled as she gave a quick bow, failing to notice that Lee had straightened up to keep an eye on the situation. He couldn't help but feel protective over his timid little friend.

"Hey, where are you going?" Naruto asked, ignoring his white-haired sensei's plea to listen to him. In his quest for something more interesting than following the chuunin to the school, the boy leaned closer to Hinata, begging to know if she was doing anything fun that he could join in on. "Is it something more interesting than studying in a dusty old library?"

Suddenly Lee was standing in front of Naruto, calmly standing between him and his friend. Without as much as a sharp edge to his voice, the martial lad answered the blonde, "Actually we're going to help old ladies cross the street and feed abandoned kittens. You should listen to your sensei and go with him."

Before Naruto could scowl and raise a commotion, Hinata lightly cleared her throat, "Actually… Lee-san… I think it might be a good idea if I help Naruto-kun…" At the pair of shocked reactions, she blushed deeper, but in the presence of Rock Lee, she found enough courage to continue. "You're right that I shouldn't risk having my family's secrets discovered… Helping study might be a lot safer…"

"That would be splendid!" Mizuki, Naruto's second sensei, replied kindly. "It should be a little more interesting for you if you have a girl helping you, Uzumaki. You might even finish quickly enough that we can get to your nature manipulation training after lunch." The devious chuunin suggested, offering a sly smile. "Unless having a cute little girl so close by will distract you…" he teased.

"Ah…!" Hinata gasped bashfully, painfully aware of what her teacher's assistant was getting at; she was a smart girl after all. "I…I…"

Though he didn't make any noticeable reaction, Lee felt stupid, hurt and betrayed; not only had his thoughtful gesture blow up in his face, but now his only friend was running off with some universally despised little hooligan. Continuing on everyday was getting tougher and tougher. "Excuse me, but I think I left my kunai holster at home. Please go on ahead of me and I'll catch up." Lee lied as he turned and erupted into smoke, pleading that no one had noticed the blue pouch strapped to his thigh.

"What a weird-o." Naruto grunted childishly as he sneered at where Lee had been moments before. "He even had eyebrows as huge as Gai-sensei's!"

"S-so… what are you studying, Naruto-kun?" Hinata forced softly, terrified to be interacting with Naruto, but not wishing to hear him bad-mouthing her friend.

- Elsewhere -

Lee frowned as he stared blankly into his reflection in a large lake within Konoha; his book lay beside him where he had carelessly tossed it after failing to find the strength to bury his emotions and pretend to be unaffected. Not long ago a great man with a shiny bowl-cut and a smile as wonderful as the sun had told him that if he worked hard that Lee would become a genin without a doubt. However he didn't graduate and that great man took on a team without him.

After that painful failure, Lee had met a wise ninja who wore a mask and promised not to teach him to work around his disability, but to teach him to not even need them. And it worked wonderfully, until that fateful day that school started back up and he'd have nothing to do with Lee anymore.

Lee felt alone and abandoned now that Hinata had chosen that hooligan that had been glared at so coldly over him. What ever happened to their promises and pacts that they'd both defy fate and become great, proving everyone that sneered or oppressed them completely wrong!? But alas, though he had done away with pointless anger, he was unprepared for the lonely torment of sorrow that engulfed him today.

Skrit, skrit Someone's sandals scraped rocks as they walked along Lee's abandoned path, a roar that he was sure no one would travel down. He had been positive because it was inside the old Uchiha neighborhood, were no one dared venture for fear of angry ghosts of the murdered clan. That could only mean one thing…

"Hey, Uchiha." Lee called rudely, far too upset to bother with formality right now. Suddenly Sasuke came to a stop, simply staring at the boy that had called him out; it was as if he knew that Lee wanted to ask a question, so he was waiting for him to spit it out so that he could be on his way. "How do you do it?"

"What the Hell are you talking about?" The raven-haired bad-ass demanded testily, more bored than annoyed at the cryptic question.

"I feel like a very tiny island trapped in the middle of an endlessly vast sea. I'm completely alone and no matter whom I…"

"Che…" Sasuke scoffed rudely. He had been a second away from rolling his eyes and continuing on his way, but… "What's your name?"

Lee shook his head, "What does it matter? Just tell me how I can deal with this terrible feeling of…"

"You can't." Sasuke cut in softly, slowly casting his cold, black eyes out to the middle of his family's lake. "It'll bother you every day for five years, and when you don't think that it'll get any worse, a blonde retard gets lucky and surpasses you." Suddenly the surviving Uchiha bit his lip to manually silence himself, embarrassed that he'd somehow allowed himself to get carried away.

Shocked dumb, Lee could only turn and follow Sasuke's eyes to the destroyed end of a rotted pier. Together the two boys sat on the shore of the lake, neither saying a word, nor wishing the other to speak. Finally, as if finding his voice for the first time, Lee asked, "What really happened to the Uchiha clan? The school textbooks don't go into detail about who killed them all, only that it was a traitor."

Sasuke ripped his cold eyes off of the pier that he had first become an adult on to stare darkly at the nosy little boy beside him. This time, however, he knew why he answered; the gears in his head were turning. "It was Itachi. My older brother, Uchiha Itachi, did it just after the sun went down." Lee's eyes widened, threatening to burst from his head at any moment at the news, and he was once again muted as Sasuke continued talking, "I wanted to deny that it was happening and run to check on my parents, but even back then I was smarter than that. So I ran to the Hokage."

"…and?" Lee prompted, dreading the moment that Sasuke would get pissed off at his being so nosy and leave, but instead the Uchiha shifted and glanced off to where his house had once been.

After painfully recounting the events of that day, Sasuke grimaced and said, "The Sandaime Hokage took two squads of ANBU with him and hunted for Itachi. They killed him and covered the whole thing up, leaving me all alone with no one to exact any revenge on."

Lee shook his head sadly, suddenly realizing how out of proportion his complaints were compared to this tortured boy's. "So, what are you going to do now, then?"

Rather than answering, Sasuke turned back towards Lee and calmly shifted into a fighting pose, "Fight me. Whether I answer or not depends on the outcome. Koi!"

- Months later -

The heavy cloth flap hanging over the front of the Ichiraku Ramen shop served as both shade and a door, airing out the shop during the summer, or locking in warmth for the winter months. The cloth would also rustle as it was pushed aside, alerting those inside of a new customer; which it did when Team Gai slipped inside for lunch.

Ichiraku Ayame heard the rustling sound of entry and glanced up from delivering a bowl of noodles and greeted the new customers, "Hello, please take a sea…" she trailed off as she got an eyeful of her favorite little ninja. "Naruto!?" Ayame cried as she dropped the bowl of beef and egg ramen that she had been taking to a seated man.

"Ayame! What's the matter?" her father, the cook, demanded as he turned away from the hot stove to check on his daughter. He turned into white stone, unable to say another word.

"Yeah, I know…" Naruto grumbled as he crossed his arms and frowned, "Because of Neji I had to…"

"It wasn't because of me, Uzumaki…" the Hyuuga cut in sternly, "To be just like Gai-sensei, you promised to shave yourself bald if you lost." True enough, Naruto's shiny head gleamed in the noonday sun.

Tenten pouted as she brushed past her teammates and took a seat at the bar, "But why is Gai-sensei…?"

The jounin laughed stoically. "I believe in Naruto so much, that I've promised to punish myself when he fails! He'll work even harder to keep us both from going through things like this!" Gai announced loudly as he jabbed his thumb at his chest, indicating the pink leotard that he had donned once again. "Soon enough, Naruto will beat Neji and spare us this embarrassment, for real!"

"Did Gai-sensei just say 'dattebayo'?" Tenten moaned sadly, ashamed of her exuberant teammates, "Not only is Naruto-kun becoming Gai-sensei, but Gai-sensei is becoming more like Naruto-kun!"

"Ignore it, Tenten.' Neji murmured. "It's their choice. Just concentrate on your own destiny."

Suddenly, Ichiraku cleared his throat and turned away from the scene, "So, what can I get you four?" he asked, reminding himself that they were still customers. Ayame accepted a new bowl of ramen to deliver to the customer as reimbursement for the one she had dropped.

- Later -

Finally the lunch hour rush was over, and of course Naruto was still eating his 9th helping. One by one his team finished, paid for their individual serving and left; Naruto was now alone in the shop with two of the few citizens of Konoha that didn't glare at him coldly.

"Don't worry, Naruto-chan…" Ayame urged with a small smile as she drew up to the boy, "I know that you're strong and that one day you really will beat that boy. But not only that," the young girl came up and embraced the bald blonde from behind, hugged him tightly, "you'll make everyone in Konoha respect you as much as my father and I do."

"Ayame-nee-chan?" Naruto murmured oddly, blushing from the sudden and unfamiliar gesture. The girl tightened her grip and smiled broader, "Uzumaki Naruto is the strongest and greatest ninja Konoha has ever seen; and while no one realizes it yet, they will. And I know this because Naruto-kun says that they will."

Naruto lowered his head and grinned, allowing the wonderful feeling of having his strength acknowledged to spread throughout his entire body. "Yeah. Real soon, they'll all see just how powerful I really am, and they'll all apologize to me as they tell me about how strong I am!"

"Yes, but can I make a suggestion, please?" the ramen girl pleaded as she squeezed the preteen tighter. And without waiting for his reply, Ayame said, "Just don't push your body so hard that you get hurt… and be yourself; you have to prove that Naruto is strong, not Gai-sensei!"

"…but Gai-sensei…" He was smothered silent when Ichiraku's daughter squeezed him even tighter still, begging him to listen to her suggestions. Naruto turned blue from the pressure and began to flail in his seat, "Herrk! Ok, ok! I'll let my hair grow back the way it was; no blonde bowl cut! Just let me breathe, for real!"

- Konoha Ninja Academy -

Sometime during the school year, partly due to an increasing synergy with students from another class, Rock Lee had been transferred from Shizuhara's class to Umino's room. He was best friends with Hinata, had formed an unusual bond of respect with Sasuke, and had managed to fight on equal footing with the rowdiest of the students, Inuzuka Kiba.

But today he had his mind on other things, such as the strip of blue cloth on his forehead which bore a metal plate etched with a swirling leaf. Rock Lee had graduated despite having a total lack of chakra control. But what was more pressing was that just before lunch, he had been placed on a team with none other than Uchiha Sasuke and a criminally cute pink-haired girl named Haruno Sakura that rivaled Hinata in looks.

Unfortunately, every other team had met their captain, chuunin or otherwise, and left with them. Team seven, however, had to wait. And wait some more. It wasn't so bad, because Lee had his book to read, Sakura had Sasuke to gaze at, and Sasuke pretty much barely tolerated anything anyway…

"Che… who does this person think they are, making us wait like this?" The last Uchiha murmured sourly as he glared at the black board, of which Iruka had long since wiped clean before leaving.

"Please calm down, Sasuke-kun." Lee murmured without taking his eyes off of the graduation present from his parents, "Maybe our captain is hiding and watching us to see how we react to their tardiness. If he is, then I want him to realize that I'm remaining calm while keeping aware of my surroundings; just like it says in this book."

"So am I, but it's inconsiderate to leave us sitting here by ourselves." Sasuke grunted. "Where could that jounin be…?"

- Konoha memorial stone -

Kakashi paused when he detected a familiar scent moments before a Wildman decked out in green spandex, a shiny bowl cut and a flak jacket left tackily open landed nearby with a cry of "Kakashi!"

"…" Kakashi stared coolly at his 'eternal rival' with his one visible eye, wondering what he could possibly want at a time like this. He had an exam to give after all.

"No time to act cool now, Hatake Kakashi!" Gai exclaimed loudly, to which Kakashi was glad he prepared himself for. "I just have one thing I'd like to say!" Gai explained as he placed his hands on his hips and paused, evidently waiting for something.

"…and that is…?" Kakashi prompted lazily. On cue, his fellow jounin grinned and launched into what had to be a well-rehearsed speech.

"Today you're evaluating those cute kids, Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke! You can go ahead and be as late as usual, but make sure that you don't go easy on them now that you're not competing against me to have the better evaluation. If you don't give these children, Rock Lee especially, an honest and challenging exam, I'll punch you in the face, dattebayo!"

"Datte…bayo…?" Kakashi murmured in confusion, "What happened to Seishuun?" He had never particularly cared about Maito Gai's eccentric practices were, but this was just so…

"Yes!" Gai exploded ecstatically, painfully catching Kakashi off guard, "Yes! Bring out the springtime of their youth; make sure that they're truly ready for life as a Konoha shinobi!" And as he urged the masked jounin, Gai made a cool guy pose and let his teeth sparkle first once, then twice… and then mysteriously his thumb sparkled…

Though he was unsure how the man had accomplished the feat, Kakashi merely nodded to his fellow jounin and assured him that the bell test would live up to its reputation; that of being the absolute hardest evaluation being performed in Konohagakure.

"We'll see, Kakashi! Seishuun and seishuun again!" Gai exclaimed as he exploded into smoke and leaves.

'…_it makes me wonder if you'd have had students by now. And how you'd treat them…_' he thought to the memorial stone as he prepared to take off. '_Well, let's go_…'

- Preview -

Kakashi has never passed a student before, so how will he deal with a determined genius, a girl with limitless potential and an imitation of himself? Also, what dangers await Naruto and his team on their promised "Super-tough C-ranked mission"?


	10. Konoha Rookies

Author's note: I've come to the decision that there will be no pairings in this; none. What I was planning to do with this work of fiction was show how different I could make Naruto, as well as make him and the other characters a little more realistic and not so… one or two dimensional. There may be some minor romances, but as previously stated, they're not the driving force of my work.

(Update) Oops, I miss-numbered Kurenai's team; it should be "8", not "6"

**Chapter 10: Konoha Rookies**

- Training grounds 3 -

Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke had been teamed together under Hatake Kakashi yesterday, and though Kakashi was as late as usual, it didn't bother Lee at all; he'd gotten used to it. Instead, the young boy had his favorite ninja manga open and was calmly reading from it, knowing that his sensei would show up in due time.

Beside him, a boy with raven black hair and dressed in a blue shirt over a pair of white shorts, sighed as he gazed up into the sky. After a long pause, the girl that eagerly hung off of his every word sighed and nodded sadly, "I guess yesterday wasn't a mistake… this man seems to be chronically late…"

"…yeah." Sasuke murmured softly. Suddenly he lowered his gaze to the girl and grimaced, "But what I want to know is if this is part of the test. There are rumors of Hatake Kakashi's genin exam being the toughest off all, so maybe this is a psychological…"

Lee coughed, more to get attention than to clear his throat, and when he had it, he chuckled from behind his mask, "I think that he prioritizes training three children as being below his morning routine. It's as you've said; his test is very trying… maybe he assumes that we'll fail anyway, so he isn't very motivated to…"

"No way!" Sakura cried defiantly, "We've had more than enough survival training in the academy!" The girl with the pink hair looked right at Sasuke for his agreement. "Didn't you say that…?"

With a sharp nod, Lee grinned under his mask and chuckled, "My gut tells me that Kakashi-sensei will be here about…"

"Yo!" a man with silver-hair and a Konoha uniform called as he slowly wandered into the clearing. Kakashi was mildly surprised to see that his students weren't angry at his tardiness; instead they were watching him patiently, eagerly waiting the start of their exam. "Hi. Sorry, but I was stopped by a cute girl and…" the jounin began.

"That's unimportant, Kakashi." Sasuke cut in rudely, staring right into the jounin's single eye, "We're here for one reason, and it's not small talk. Because you're an hour late, we should get started as soon as we can."

"He's right. We're all ready for your exam." The masked boy claimed as he nodded and pocketed his book.

"Even girls have to be strong to survive, so I'm also ready, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura agreed firmly, grinning as she placed her hands on her hips. In her mind, a second voice seemed to scream '_Hell yeah_!' as she gave a mental thumbs-up.

"…" Kakashi stared blankly at the children he'd been assigned to evaluate. He'd seen all of this before; in excess, even. But no matter how much confidence or bravado they had, they always ended up tied to logs watching him eat. And since he didn't want Maito Gai to '_punch him in the face, dattebayo!_', Kakashi decided to cut to the chase and give his students the undefeated Bell Test…

- Later that day -

The Hokage and his assistants sat along the stretched table, looking out over the four ninjas present before them. Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai and a masked ANBU woman stood in varying stages of respect or boredom, depending on their personality.

Asuma nodded as he grinned at his father, "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji passed much quicker than anticipated. Though I can't help but feel that Nara's lazy as hell, Akimichi could do with more confidence, and Yamanaka is too noisy for her own good; I'm sure that they could go far."

The Hokage chuckled softly as he exhaled his pipe smoke, and after a moment the old man nodded, "History seems to have a habit of repeating itself, does it not? Very well, these three are granted genin status. I'll have an appropriate D-rank mission for them tomorrow morning." An assistant hastily made a note on a document before returning his attention to the collection of jounin.

Kurenai smiled as she crossed her arms under her breasts, "Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata have all passed." Slowly, the brunette frowned and mentioned, "I'm so glad, too; Hinata would have been crushed if she had failed…" Kurenai let herself trail off, not even wishing to finish her thought.

Kakashi decided that this moment of silence would be the best time to announce, for the first time since he'd taken it, that the Bell Test had been completed. "Uchiha Sasuke, Rock Lee and Haruno Sakura have all passed as well. We'll show up tomorrow for our mission." As usual his speech was short and to the point.

"That's Hatake Kakashi for you!" the bearded man laughed softly. Asuma grinned as he elbowed his fellow jounin, "These kids finally managed to beat your version of the Bell Test, but you act as if you'd seen it coming a mile away. That Sharingan in your eye must have given you the power to see…"

"No, it's taken me by surprise as well…" Kakashi interrupted, ignoring the playful jabs, both physical and verbal. "But we're talking about the heir to the Uchiha clan and…"

"And Kakashi junior?" Asuma teased, evidently in a very good mood. When the one-eyed jounin stared back at him in silence, the Hokage's son laughed and continued, "I mean we've all seen how he follows you around and reads a book, just like Kakashi-san…"

"Asuma-san, I don't think you should poke fun at another teacher's students…" Iruka mentioned stiffly, too busy organizing the registration papers for the new genin to look up. "Every ninja has their own way to become strong, and if it helps this boy to emulate his teacher, then we should respect…"

Kakashi lowered his face and let out a chuckle of his own, "I'm actually somewhat flattered by Rock Lee's enthusiasm and determination to prove himself by seeing me as his ideal. _That_ Uzumaki Naruto was in your class, Iruka-kohei; yet look at where he is now. He's incorporating practices from Maito Gai and Mizuki and has quickly gone from the bottom of his class to one of the strongest genin in his year."

Kurenai furrowed her brow as she gazed towards her ex-boyfriend, "How do you know so much about Uzumaki Naruto? I've never seen the two of you together…"

"We can have this discussion later." the ANBU kunoichi interrupted, her soft voice carrying a tone of annoyance. "More importantly," she began scathingly, "I have to report that my charge has passed his unique series of tests, and though the subject has…"

"Natsumi-san…" the Sandaime began softly, expelling a puff of smoke from his pipe. He'd been relaxing as he listened to the young ninjas tease each other, but the old man felt that the ANBU solder was putting the peaceful serenity of Konoha in jeopardy. He hoped that by speaking the woman's name, she'd realize her error.

While she did notice what the Hokage had tried to do, she stood rigidly and spoke officially, "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I have regulations that I must abide by. Not only did the subject of my evaluation hesitate twice, but he has offered us a stolen scroll as a bribe to smooth the transition." In a fluid motion, the woman withdrew a small roll of paper and held it stiffly towards the Hokage.

"…I'll make sure that it's returned as soon as possible." the Sandaime Hokage sighed heavily as the chuunin beside him reached out and accepted the scroll. He knew that he'd never get the girl to loosen up, try as he might.

"I'm done here, so with your permission I'll take my leave, Hokage-sama." Natsumi stated militantly as she gave a salute. The old man nodded a grunt, and not a second later, the kunoichi exploded, leaving nothing in her wake.

"My, my… what was all that about?" Kurenai asked curiously, raising one of her trimmed eyebrows.

Asuma shook his head sadly, "That girl is Danzo's daughter, and she happens to share her father's views. In fact, Danzo has been trying hard to get the third to retire so that either he or his kin can take over as Hokage."

"No, I mean…" the woman began, but she was cut off.

"When it concerns you, you'll learn about it." Kakashi said cryptically, not looking up from the book he had pulled out. "Ignore the situation and concentrate on training your students for now, Kurenai-san. We have responsibilities now…" It was almost as if he were reminding himself rather than his fellow jounin.

"Speaking of which…" the Sandaime Hokage mentioned with a curling wisp of smoke, "We'll have your D-rank missions prepared in the morning. Now, take good care of these children, as they are our future.

In unison, the three jounin either saluted or nodded as they collectively cried, "Yes, sir."

- Training area 28 -

All day, Neji had been drilling his teammates hard in various scenarios and situations in hopes of getting as much experience as possible so that they could deal with anything that the chuunin exam could throw at them.

Now the three of them lay in a circle in the grass breathing heavily from the ordeal; they had just finished their cool-down exercises and simply crumpled to the ground where they stood. Naruto chuckled as he stared up into the sky.

"What are you giggling about, Whiskers?" Tenten teased playfully, giggling to herself.

"I don't giggle!" Naruto grumbled as he glared up at the heavens, "But I was just thinking about the chuunin… thing coming up. When we pass it and become middle level ninjas, then I'll be one step closer to becoming the Hokage!"

"Are you still pursuing that hopeless dream, Uzumaki?" Neji scoffed rudely. "People born with no talent cannot…"

"Oh, be quiet, Neji." Tenten scolded kindly, "That may be your view, but I think that Naruto-kun has just as much chance of becoming the Hokage as anyone!"

"I agree." Neji replied calmly. "The chances that any average ninja can become our leader are slim enough to be impossible. Only a handful of people have what it takes to take that position." Even while saying this, Neji couldn't help but remember the strange chakra that came off of his blonde teammate so long ago during that training. That horrifying chakra hadn't shown up since, but it still worried Neji…

"You'll see when I get there, Neji." Naruto replied finally. "Because if you look at it my way, then I do have talent." The branch house Hyuuga sat up and turned towards the blonde and demanded to know what he meant. So Naruto answered, "I grew up with no parents and no friends… everyone hated my guts and would stare at me with such cold eyes."

"So?"

"Shut up and listen!" Naruto growled as he in turn sat up and turned towards his teammate. He continued when he cooled down a bit, "Even though no one helped me, I managed to get into the academy; not only that but I graduated before everyone in my class and became a genin a year early. Now I'm even strong enough to hurt you, the genius of the Hyuuga clan."

Tenten nodded, "Even I can't hit Neji-kun, but Naruto-kun is getting better every day. I think Neji's being too critical…"

Without a word, Hyuuga Neji leaned back in the grass again, choosing to stare into the canopy of the trees instead of being goaded into a fight.

Putting the genius out of their minds, Naruto turned towards the kunoichi and asked, "Hey, hey, Tenten-chan? What was your dream again?"

Tenten grinned before answering, "I dreamt that I was swimming in a giant bowl of ramen, but before I could eat any, a giant version of…"

"Oh, real funny." Naruto laughed as he kicked at Tenten. "You know what I mean!"

The girl giggled as she blocked his kick with her hand, "I plan to be world renowned for my skill as a ninja, like the legendary kunoichi Tsunade-sama!" she reminded.

"Ah! Tenten can do it for sure!" Naruto cheered happily, "I'll help you get better, too!"

Suddenly there was a loud bang as a man dressed in green appeared facing away from the three relaxing children with his hands on his hips, screaming "Seishuun!" at the top of his lungs.

"Gai-sensei?" Naruto and Tenten asked in unison, causing Neji to sit up and glance towards their teacher.

"If you three can see my back, then that means I'm ahead of you and leaving you behind. You should get up and get ready, because Gai-sensei is here to beef your training up to the next level, yes!" the man exclaimed in excitement. He turned towards his students and grinned widely, "Watching Kakashi and his children has gotten me so pumped that I can't wait to begin! Come on, Naruto-kun, together we shall…"

Suddenly Neji interrupted, "I'm going to get lunch and go home. I'm done for today."

Tenten frowned as she watched Neji leave, and after a moment she glanced towards Gai and made a decision. "Actually, I'm done for today as well; girls aren't as sturdy as guys so I need a break." With that, she jogged up to Neji and began to follow him, leaving both boys in green spandex behind.

"Hmm, looks like it's just you and me, Naruto-kun." Gai mentioned thoughtfully as he rubbed his clean-shaven chin. "I guess this means that you get special individual training. What cool trick can I teach you?"

"Forget it." Naruto murmured, "You can't just show up after we're done and expect us to be happy, Gai-sensei." the boy grumped. "You have to learn some responsibility, so I'm going to get ramen and go home. I'll see you tomorrow, Gai-sensei." The blonde exploded, leaving nothing behind as he darted through the trees.

Gai watched as all three of his students left him, and he couldn't help but feel hurt and abandoned. He let out a mighty sigh when he realized that, "Those kids are too focused on the chuunin exam and are rapidly losing their youth and innocence. It's sad, but they won't need me for too much longer; they're outgrowing their wonderful teacher."

The warm breeze that had been cheerfully dancing through Konoha seemed to stop and grow chill. No one realized that it was because of Gai's sorrow.

- The next day -

Much to Gai's surprise, Naruto was back to his exuberant old self when he showed up for their morning training. Actually, he wasn't quite the same Naruto that he had been a month ago; Gai sensed the boy's growing maturity both physically and mentally. The boy was growing up too quickly; he almost seemed like a fifteen year old! '_Could it be the demon fox's influence? They say that animals grow much faster than humans. What can this mean for Naruto-kun?_' the taijutsu specialist thought as his team went through their cool-down exercises after training.

"Hey, Gai-sensei!" Naruto called as he jogged up to his teacher to get his attention. The blonde grinned when the bushy-browed jounin looked down at him. "Weren't we going on a super-tough C-rank mission? I'm ready for it, dattebayo!"

"Yes!" Gai exclaimed powerfully, "To make up for yesterday, I'll take Naruto, Neji and Tenten on one of the toughest C-rank missions available. Get your ninja gear and meet me at the gates to Konoha; I'll get the mission now!" And with that, the spaz crouched and leapt into the trees.

- Mission chamber -

Gai stood in all of his tacky glory in front of a young teenaged woman who was struggling to find a suitable mission that the picky jounin wouldn't turn down. "Um… a bridge builder from the Wave country has sent a request to be escorted from his home back to Konoha. Tazuna-san… he's the bridge builder… he says that bandits might…"

"Pass!" Gai exclaimed mightily, "I asked for something dangerous; my students can handle the worst C-rank you have! I have my full confidence in them, dattebayo!" The man with the shiny bowl-cut grinned at himself, enjoying his game of trading key phrases with his favorite student.

"Um… ok…" the girl murmured, "The emperor of Fire claims that his wife's cat might have been catnapped by…"

"No!" Gai cried, "Those missions are too weak! Give me the scroll so that I can find something suitable for my amazing young students!" He didn't expect it to happen, but he didn't want to let Naruto down after promising something tough. He couldn't sacrifice his teacher-student bond!

"Che…" the chuunin scoffed as she tossed the scroll to the jounin. Sarcastically she simpered, "I've got an idea! You're a jounin, so you should have enough insight to choose the right mission. Just mark a little "X" beside your desired task and I'll handle the rest."

After catching the scroll, Gai grinned before diving over the missions, ignoring the other teams in the room. Beside him, team 8 and 10 were accepting their first D-rank mission.

Shikamaru sighed as he glanced towards his best friend, Chouji and muttered, "I'm glad we're on this team. Imagine how annoying it would be to have that guy as our teacher."

Chouji nodded at his friend, "Shikamaru is right. I'm fine with doing D-rank missions…"

Listening to a gut-feeling, Asuma-sensei, counted his students and whispered, "There weren't two of you when we came in were there? Where's Yamanaka Ino?"

Kurenai giggled as she tapped Asuma on the shoulder and pointed towards Gai, who was just looking up to meet the gaze of a blonde girl, causing the bearded man to groan in exasperation.

"Hey!" Ino cried when she had Gai's attention, "Is that the C-rank scroll?" And without waiting for his answer she energetically pointed at it and demanded, "Find us a good C-rank too; I can't wait to see the look on Sakura's face when she hears that we've already…"

"Hey! If their team gets a C-rank, ours does too!" Kiba proclaimed with a glare. "Hell, we'll take a B-rank, right Akamaru?"

"Forget them… find me a C-rank, even if it's the easiest one!" Ino demanded, causing Gai to glance towards Asuma, who had his face in his hand, ashamed at the way his student was acting in front of his father.

Finally Gai rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the chuunin before announcing, "I'll take the mission to Shien no sato. I'll be going now, seishuun!" Before Ino could yell at him, Gai simply blinked and instantly vanished, causing her to stare blankly at the empty space he had occupied moments ago.

- Later -

Six children and two adults stood at the gates leading out of Konoha, the kids eager and fidgeting, the jounin giving each other an odd look. It was unheard of for such fresh genin to go on a C-rank so early in their career; but Ino, Kiba and Akamaru had made such a racket that to prevent a migraine, the Hokage had no choice but to give them the simplest one available.

With two jounin escorting them, delivering a scroll to Suna wouldn't be too dangerous, would it?

"Ok, first thing's first." Ino announced matter-of-factly, "I'm the leader here, so we do as I say."

"Maybe for your team, but _I'm_ the leader for team 8!" Kiba barked as he jerked his thumb at his chest. "Right, Akamaru?" The dog barked in agreement.

"Actually…" Shino, dressed in his trench coat and sunglasses, muttered deeply, "I think that I should take that position."

Chouji also had something to say, "Ino, wouldn't Shikamaru be better? He's smart and…"

"Do you want some of this, Akimichi?" Ino growled with eyes like white disks as she held her fist in his face.

"Forget it, Chouji…" Shikamaru sighed lazily. He was leaning against the gate with his hands in his pockets and a visage of boredom on his face. "It's too much of a bother to be the leader; just let her take the job. It'll be quieter that way anyway."

"Oh, you want to fight for the position, Shino?" Kiba could be heard roaring from a mile away.

"You'd lose against me, Inuzuka." Shino warned coolly, ignoring Hinata's claim that they should be friends and get along.

"There are many ways to skin a cat, _Aburame_!" Kiba growled, "This is the contest, then. The one who howls at the moon the best gets to be the captain!"

"…" Kurenai shared yet another look with Asuma, who seemed to be forcing himself not to laugh aloud. They hadn't ever imagined that taking on students would be quite like this; they had never been like that when they were kids! "It's only 8 isn't it? The moon won't be out for…"

"HOWL!" both Kiba and Akamaru let loose their best, and loudest, howl; it was so mighty that everyone in range was forced to clap their hands over their ears and pinch their eyes shut, the only exception being Shino. "Hah! Beat that!" the exuberant young boy demanded as he grinned like a wolf.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, DOG-BOY?" Ino shrieked, shooting spit into his face as she took Kiba by the collar and shook him violently. "You hurt my ears!"

"…so much for quieter, right Shikamaru?" Asuma chuckled as he playfully elbowed the young boy. The genius looked up at his teacher, but didn't respond, though his face told them all that he was beginning to wish that he had never become a ninja.

Shino seemed to be staring at his teammate, but it was difficult to tell through his sunglasses. He knew that he couldn't beat Kiba at howling, but he knew that didn't need to. "Kurenai-sensei, do you remember who was the quickest in completing your test?"

"I see where this is going." the jounin kunoichi mentioned, offering a small, sly smile. "Shino did in fact pass first, but I'm afraid that you can't have it your way; the vice-captain is up to me."

After pushing Ino off of him, the Inuzuka made a hand seal at his dog before getting his teacher's attention. "Come on, Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba pleaded, "Look at poor Akamaru…" The white dog was sitting at the woman's feet, whining and staring up at her with large puppy dog eyes. "He's sad that I'm not the leader. You don't want to make a puppy sad, do you?"

"Oh, that's too sad…" Hinata moaned, instantly feeling sorry for the poor puppy. "Maybe you should just let Kiba-kun be the vice-captain…"

"Who cares about a dumb dog?" Ino scoffed as she turned her back on the loud team that she was being forced to cooperate with; they weren't permitted to take the C-rank alone, so teams 8 and 10 had been merged for this one mission. "I aught to cook that thing and turn it into Korean BBQ…"

"Hey! That sounds great!" Chouji said, perking up at the mere mention of BBQ.

"Now, you three…" Asuma began, but he cut himself off to listen to Kurenai, who had made her decision.

"I'm sorry, but Akamaru-chan is just going to have to be sad; my vice-captain is going to be Hyuuga Hinata." the jounin announced, causing the shy girl to blush and go dumb.

"What!?" Kiba barked angrily, advancing on the woman with a snarl, "Do you believe this, Akamaru?" The dog barked menacingly, loudly displaying his feelings on the matter.

"Kurenai-sensei…" Shino said calmly, "I don't mean any disrespect, but Hinata hasn't displayed any leadership qualities.

"…he's right. I'm not cut out for something like that, Kurenai-sensei." the young girl murmured sadly."

Shikamaru yawned widely before lazily giving his own thoughts, "Actually, she's the only one that hasn't demanded a promotion; they say that an overeager prince rules over a doomed kingdom." Hinata couldn't help but apologize to her team at taking the position from them.

"Where the hell did you hear something like that?" Ino scoffed, "You need initiative and ambition to make it in the shinobi world!"

The lazy genius yawned before answering, "My father said it once. But as Kurenai-sensei stated, the choice is up to the jounin to choose their vice-captain."

Chouji frowned as he looked up at Asuma, "I still think it should be Shikamaru-kun, sensei. He's smart, kind and isn't that loud…"

Asuma nodded as he reached into his pocket and set a cigarette into his mouth and lit it, "You're right; Shikamaru is just as you say. But I don't think he's motivated enough to be second in command."

"Yes! It's me!" Ino cried happily as she threw her fist into the air and cheered.

"You're wrong." Asuma muttered as he let out a curl of tobacco smoke from the corner of his mouth. "I personally think that Akimichi Chouji is the fittest for the job. Congratulations, Chouji."

"Good job, Chouji, Hinata." Shikamaru congratulated listlessly, "Maybe we can get this mission over with now? Suna's five days away…"

"Suna's three days away, you moron!" Kiba barked severely, evidently upset at having been passed over.

The Young genius glanced up into the sky to watch the clouds float by as he gave his reason, "This is our first C-ranked mission, so we should take our time and do it right. Shouldn't we?"

Asuma shook his head as he took his cigarette out of his mouth and let out a cloud of smoke. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but Suna's expecting this scroll back as soon as possible. We're going at the normal pace."

"Man, this is too much…" the boy genius sighed in annoyance.

"Hell," Ino scoffed, "The sooner we finish this the sooner I can tell my dad about this injustice. He works in the Konoha Police Force you know!"

Kurenai couldn't help but wonder if she had been this bad when she was their age. She hoped not!

- ANBU Headquarters -

Natsumi strode up to a very strange man wearing a black tank top and dark-khaki pants; but the most prominent feature was his hitai-ate, the forehead protector. Rather than being attached to a fold of cloth and tied to his body, the man's Sand village plate was bolted right into his forehead. It would have to be replaced before he could go onto active duty.

The ANBU came to a stop in front of the Sand ninja, who had made a rigid salute as soon as she had entered the interrogation room. Natsumi nodded, but her expression couldn't be seen through her animal mask. "Tenshigo Takeshi, you've been accepted into the Konoha military at the rank of genin; you'll have to start from the bottom and work your way back up. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the man cried intensely, remaining in his salute. "However, I'm confused that I haven't yet met with the Hokage."

"The ANBU work directly under the Fire Shadow, so you're meeting with him through me." Natsumi informed him strictly. "From now on I'm your captain. Tomorrow we'll begin with the regulatory D-rank mission for the betterment of Konoha; until then, you're free to do as you wish so long as you abide by our laws."

"Thank you, sir!" Takeshi exclaimed militantly, still standing in salute.

"Good. You're dismissed, soldier." And with a small wave, the woman signaled for him to follow her: she was going to lead him out.

- Preview -

A great man once said, "A ninja must look underneath the underneath…" So when Team Gai investigates the farming village of Tobacco Smoke, what clues do they spot that no others could see? Naruto and friends meet up with an old acquaintance, but it isn't necessarily a 'good' acquaintance…


	11. Cunning Kunoichi

Author's note: Sorry for the late update, but my internet messed up (shorted-out wire or something) and I couldn't do anything online. That and I've been a little bored with fan-fic writing, so I took a break.

On a second note; I don't see what everyone has against the green spandex. I think the "Might Suit" is awesome… But anyway, here's the chapter.

**Chapter 11: Cunning Kunoichi**

- Fire country -

As teams 8 and 10 flitted through the treetops on a direct course with Suna, Yuhi Kurenai glanced towards Hinata. The shy girl was frowning as she stared into space, a strange mixture of worry and regret crossing her face before being stoically replaced by a generic, blank expression taught to them in the academy. Finally, the young jounin glanced towards her partner and delicately raised an eyebrow.

Upon seeing the woman's gesture, Asuma glanced at his watch before shrugging and giving an order, "We're stopping for a break!" he called as he simply let himself fall through the branches, only to land softly in the brush on the forest floor. Only Asuma himself knew how he managed to land in a clearing large enough for all of them to rest in.

One by one, the genin carefully dropped out of the trees and wandered into the grove, not having the experience to mimic the older man. Finally, when they were all assembled, Kurenai called her team to her side. "Shino, Kiba, Hinata. I'm going to take each of you out with me to scout the area; there are three of you, and it'll take us three days to get to Suna…" Shikamaru scoffed at the realization that they were going to go at full speed; the lazy bum wanted to take it easy.

Shino nodded, "You plan to give us individual scouting experience in the field. By the end of the mission, we'll each have had two days of practice."

"You're a sharp kid, Shino-kun." Kurenai mentioned kindly, "And since Hinata is my vice-captain, I'm taking her with me today. Come along, Hinata-san." The jounin ordered as she nodded at the Hyuuga before leaping into the trees.

When the two were gone, Kiba grinned mischievously as he turned his attention on Shino, "Hey, you wanna wrestle?" The boy in the trench coat stared blankly at his teammate, hoping that he was kidding, but dreading that he wasn't. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice in the matter, because Kiba let loose a feral growl as he threw himself at Shino.

Shino, as calm as ever, waiting for the last second before leaning to the left and brushing Kiba away so that the dog-user landed harmlessly behind him. "It's very unwise to waste your energy while we're resting, Kiba." the Aburame scolded over his shoulder, not bothering to turn towards his fallen teammate.

On the other side of the clearing, Ino had just looked up at the sound of battle, and before she could become angry over the noise, she couldn't help but notice, "Wow… that kid in the sunglasses is so cool!"

After a huge yawn, Shikamaru scratched his side as he glanced towards the scuffle and shrugged, "Eh… they're alright."

By this time, Kiba widened his grin as he kicked out behind him, nailing Shino in the back of the knee and forcing him to fall to the ground beside him. Quickly, he rolled so that he was sitting on top of the bug-user and bared his canine-like teeth as he clawed his hand, "If you're tired from that little jog, then it's no wonder that Kurenai-sensei skipped over you for vice-captain!"

"Hinata deserves her promotion. All we can do at this point is give her our support." Shino announced as he snaked his arms around Kiba's arms. "As for you, you need to get off of me…" he grunted as he gave a sharp thrust, shoving the dog-user away.

"Rahaa!" Kiba cried as he landed feet first against a tree and prepared to leap back at his teammate. Shino silently swore as he climbed back to his feet and began to brush off his coat, seemingly oblivious to the imminent danger.

"Ah! Sunglasses kid, he's going to…!" Ino cried before taking a single step forward in an attempt to get Shino's attention. Much to her regret, instead of alerting the boy, Shino glanced towards Ino to see what she wanted from him, effectively blinding himself to Kiba's counter attack!

- Several yards away from the clearing -

Kurenai glanced sideways at Hinata and offered a reassuring smile, "Hey, you're doing a great job, Hinata-san. You're better than me when I was your age; I twisted my ankle on my first mission out of Konoha…"

"Thank you… Kurenai-sensei." the timid girl murmured, briefly taking her eyes off of the forest floor. "But are you sure that I was the right choice for this? He'd always say how great I did, even if I didn't think so myself…"

"Listen to me, Hinata-san." Kurenai ordered sternly, "I saw the look on your face… what's wrong? It's dangerous to lose focus while on a mission, so you should get whatever it is off of your chest so that we can…"

Hinata sighed and returned her gaze to the bushes, pretending to be looking for predators. Unfortunately for her, she lacked enough skill to make the best use of her Byakugan, so she had deactivated it. After a long moment of silence, the young girl frowned and decided to trust her teacher, "I wanted to be on Lee-kun's team, because he was always so nice to me and made me feel good…" Suddenly she blushed and stared wide-eyed at Kurenai, "I mean Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are good too, but…"

"You mean Rock Lee?" the jounin asked kindly, gently interrupting her student. When Hinata nodded, Kurenai made a soft chuckle, "So that time the two of you attacked Kakashi-senpai, you were on a date as well?"

"Ah!" Hinata gasped, unable to help from blushing deeper at the accusation; it was too much! "I don't… know what you mean!"

"Shh, shh. I'm just kidding, Hinata-chan." Kurenai urged soothingly. "I think I understand your situation. You've grown to be Rock Lee's best friend, right? And because of that, you wanted to stay at his side." Hinata nodded timidly, and though her blush slowly receded from her pale cheeks, she didn't elaborate further. Kurenai sighed as she shook her head, "Anyway, I think we've determined that this area is safe, so we should head back to the others."

- Resting area -

Shino sighed as he turned towards the blonde that had called out to him. "My name is Aburame Shi…" he began, but was rudely interrupted when something sharp clenched onto his ankle, startling him. "The dog!" the boy had enough time to murmur before Kiba crashed into him and barked laughter at him.

"Hah! Never forget that you _never_ fight an Inuzuka alone!" the dog-user gloated as he sneered down at his pinned teammate. He had Shino's arms held firmly to his sides, completely preventing hand seals or struggle.

"I'll keep that in mind, Inuzuka Kiba." Shino replied in a deep and calm voice. "You've won this battle, so let me up now." The rowdy genin couldn't help but grin as he climbed off of his comrade and rubbed his nose childishly.

"You know, Shino…" Kiba mentioned as his teammate got to his feet and dusted off his trenchcoat, causing the young boy to look up at him. "Puppies fight with each other to learn important skills early; I think that we should do this more often."

"…" Shino stared blankly at Kiba, carefully debating whether or not he was kidding. Finally, he blinked and muttered, "…not on your life." 'That flank was a very ingenious however… It just might be a good idea to keep a back-up plan, or at least have a trump card prepared. Maybe something with my…"

On the other side of the clearing, Shikamaru returned his eyes to the sky, having watched the scuffle in hopes of keeping himself halfway entertained. The lazy genius sighed as he murmured, "Who knew that his bark and bite were equal?"

"What do you mean?" Chouji wondered, pausing with a chip an inch from his mouth.

"Inuzuka." Shikamaru explained slowly as he turned his attention to his friend, "He's loud, but he has the ability to back up his words. It's a good trait."

"I can't believe that he won against that sunglasses-kid…" Ino mentioned as she turned away from team 8 and shrugged in an unimpressed gesture, "Well, he isn't Sasuke-kun after all."

All the while, Asuma was cautiously scanning the trees for any sign of Kurenai and Hinata, thinking, '_They shouldn't be taking this long. Are they really scouting the area or did that cunning woman figure out a way to have girl talk_?' However, he was suddenly interested in his student's conversation, which he had been secretly listening to. "Sasuke? Do you mean Uchiha Sasuke?"

"That's right! He's cute, awesome and…" Ino began, but she was silenced when Kiba clapped his hand over her mouth and held an index finger over his own lips.

"Shut up for a second." he demanded softly as he sniffed the air. "I think Kurenai-sensei and Hinata are almost… gah!" the Inuzuka growled as he pulled his hand away from Ino and looked down at a red patch on the inside of his middle finger; Ino had bitten him in retaliation.

"That'll teach you not to put your nasty hand on my mouth!" Ino growled firmly, daring Kiba to fight back just so that she could really lay into him.

"It's a good thing they're getting along…" a woman chuckled as she came in for a landing beside Asuma, who merely smiled and shrugged in return. Kurenai then reached up and flirtatiously patted her fellow jounin on the shoulder as she gave her report. "The area's safe, so we'll be alright for an hour of rest. We have a long way to go, so we should make as much time as we can before camping for the night."

Asuma nodded slowly. Finally the bearded jounin brought up the other thing that was concerning him, "I was just thinking about that… we're going to need to figure out the sleeping arrangements. I can find a cool area, but we have a lot of children to accommodate…"

Suddenly Kurenai giggled, "I asked my students to pack their own tent, so we'll be fine tonight. You guys are on your own."

"…" Asuma sighed as he turned his attention back to the children and embarrassingly mentioned, "I knew I forgot something…"

- Shien no sato -

Unlike teams 8 and 10, Team Gai did not stop for a break. Naruto, Tenten, Neji and Gai all stood in the center of an abandoned village, scanning the empty shops and suspiciously eyeing the heavy boot tracks left in the dirt. Finally, the jounin gave orders to his genin, "We'll each take a direction and look for clues. The one who finds the most will have the honor of wearing my jounin jacket for a whole day! I'm for real!"

"Alright!" Naruto cried excitedly, "That's the perfect incentive to make us work harder; it'll make us really want to get one of our own!"

Tenten smiled and nodded in agreement, "It does look fashionable, too. I wonder if it'd look good on me."

"Hell yeah it would, Tenten-chan!" Naruto exclaimed boyishly, "You're so cute that anything looks good on you!"

After a long moment of deliberation, Neji resigned himself to playing along simply to help his team. "Even I'm trying for the prize. Naruto, Tenten, do your best because I fully intend to win Gai-sensei's jacket." he lied.

It had the desired effect though, because Naruto seemed to explode with energy and resolve as he clapped his fist into his hand and grinned, "Byakugan or not, I'm not going to lose to you!"

Neji carefully watched Naruto before turning away, "We'll see. I'm _going_ to use my Byakugan, so look extra carefully…" And he was off to do his job as a shinobi.

"Ha! In that case you should start seeking clues, Naruto!" Gai announced powerfully, causing his student to turn towards him.

The blonde paused suddenly, realizing that something was wrong… "Hey… where's Tenten-chan?"

"She left while you and Neji were battling it out with your words; she doesn't want to lose to either of you. It's so great, isn't it, Naruto-kun?"

"What!?" Naruto gasped in shock, surprised that his best friend would use him in such a way.

"The three of you are working so hard to become Konoha's mightiest genin! Your youth impresses me so much… I love you all!!" Gai cried with both fists in the air and let his manly tears of pride stream from his eyes.

It didn't take long before the blonde forgot what he had been upset about. "You're the greatest, Gai-sensei!" Naruto announced softly before turning his own wet eyes to the west and grinning. "You were the first to accept me, so I'll do everything in my power to become a chuunin and make you even prouder!" he said with a scratchy voice full of emotion.

"I got this mission for you, Naruto-kun; so show me what you can do!" Gai urged as he pointed to the west, "Go, Naruto-kun!"

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" And he was off like a shot, bolstered by his teacher's rousing battle cry.

- Suna -

Deep in the city of sand, there was a large mansion with the emblem of Wind painted boldly on the front to announce the building's importance. The Kazekage's mansion served two purposes: to house the Wind shadow and his children, as well as serve as the center of the military.

In a medium sized office, hidden behind a veil, the most important man in the village sat in conversation with a small team of Suna ANBU who had returned with an urgent notice straight from Konoha. "The village of the leaves claims that they're peacefully returning the stolen scroll." the captain announced.

"Did they even mention the defector?" the Wind shadow demanded coldly, though he didn't move an inch.

"They did not mention him at all, sir. But the Hokage has sent two teams of genin to return the stolen document to us, asking for nothing in return other than Suna's friendship." the ANBU replied, his odd tone revealing just how unusual such a tactic was. Konoha was notorious for changing the rules; though they had proven time and time again that they could afford to act as they wish without fear of being crushed.

"So it wasn't _that_ organization that stole it, I see…" the Kazekage murmured slowly, shrewdly thinking the situation through. "I'll decide what to do when the Konoha shinobi arrive, but for now you are to seek all clues on what Gatou Industries is up to. If you come in contact with Daiya do NOT engage her; call for reinforcements and I'll personally handle my old teammate. I may be the only one that can."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama!" the ANBU cried as he dutifully saluted the captain-commander of the entire Sand military. "What should we do about Gatou Industries?" The Kazekage growled at the ninja from behind the veil, causing the grown man to wince and climb to his feet. It was completely up to the captain to decide what to do, so he dropped his salute and directed his men, "Yes, sir! Kaori, Shimazune, Zagato; let's move out!"

"Inform Baki that I wish to meet with him before you go." the Kazekage demanded softly.

He didn't have to wait long before the jounin opened the door, knowing that when summoned he was expected to enter so as to not needlessly waste time. "Kazekage-sama?" Baki muttered as he reverently knelt before the Wind shadow.

"……" the shinobi behind the veil sat in silence for the longest time, simply watching the jounin. Finally he spoke, "Are you still able to control Gaara?"

"Sir, yes, sir! You won't believe it, but he's…" Baki paused, unsure of what word to use. "The other day he asked if the Chuunin exam was going to be held in Konoha this year, and when I affirmed it he professed that he was going. Even his siblings were unable to get a reason from him."

"……" After a tense length of time, the Kazekage reached up and seemed to rub his fingers against his chin as if in thought. "You're aware of our predicament with the Daimyo no Kaze no Kuni." he stated carefully, hoping that his soldier would pick up on the subtle hint.

Baki forced his face to remain stony, refusing to show any of the surprise that struck him. What this meant was that the Wind shadow feared his plan to strengthen Suna would fail and was hoping that Baki, a mere jounin, would give him advice. This was huge! "Sir, I know that this might sound unpatriotic, but I don't believe that we can save Suna without foreign assistance."

"I feared the same thing." the Kazekage mentioned softly, letting out a small sigh. "But I don't think something like that should be done hastily. Baki, I have a plan; and you'll play a pivotal role in it…" The jounin knelt deeper to the leader of the Sand, more than willing to do _anything_ for his village.

- Fire country -

Teams 8 and 10 finally came to a stop when Asuma once again signaled and simply plunged through the trees towards the ground. When the children found their way to the forest floor, the jounin could be seen leaning against a tree with a lit cigarette in his mouth, "That's as far as we'll go tonight. I hope you kids prepared to camp out, because this is where we're staying."

"Hai, hai." Shikamaru murmured as he dropped his backpack on the ground and groaned lazily. He glanced towards team 8 as they each set up their tent before turning his attention to the other boy on his team. "Ugh… would you mind setting up my tent, Chouji?"

"Sure thing, Shikamaru-kun." the husky boy agreed with a smile, pleased to be of assistance to his best friend.

As she set down her own bag, Ino had a wicked idea, "Hey Chouji, as vice-captain it should be your job to prepare the sleeping tents."

"Do you think it should be that way, Ino-san?" the Akimichi wondered, unsure how to deal with the new situation.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" the blonde urged manipulatively, "The leader has to take care of his subordinates, doesn't he?"

"Well, ok then! I'll set up Shikamaru-kun's and Ino-san's tents before mine." Chouji announced with a warm smile as he reached for the lazy genius' bag.

Asuma sighed as he scanned the area; Kurenai had taken Hinata off for another scouting expedition, leaving Kiba and Shino to set up their tents for them. And here he was with no bed at all. But it didn't matter to him very much; when he was a kid he'd hide in the woods all night from his father just to irritate him. So when Kurenai and Hinata returned, they all laid down to sleep.

- Shien no sato -

It was midnight when Team Gai met back in the center of the ghost town; Naruto was mysteriously covered in dust and splinters, as if he had blundered and fallen somewhere. He refused to elaborate on it.

"Anyway," Neji cut in sharply, "There are a lot of forced doors and stolen property all over the village to support the popular theory of a bandit invasion. It has to have been a fairly large number to pull off a stunt like this, and they have to of done well in the past to have emboldened them to make such a risky move…"

"No, no!" Tenten interrupted, waving her finger negatively at the white-eyed genius. When she had the spot light, she inhaled and smiled knowingly, "I think there are more sinister forces at work here. I believe that we're dealing with foreign ninjas!"

Neji scoffed irritably as he glanced towards Gai-sensei, "Wouldn't this be a "B" ranked mission if there were enemy shinobi involved?"

Gai reached up and calmly rubbed his shaved chin enigmatically as he played the role of chief investigator. Finally he cracked a sly grin and answered, "Only if shinobi interference had been confirmed or if there was strong evidence suggesting such opponents to be involved. As it is, we have yet to disprove shinobi involvement; so we have no idea what level our opponents will be!" But try to solve this without me; this mission is for my wonderful students!"

"Exactly!" Tenten chimed in, clenching her fist and taking a purposeful step towards Neji, "Grass country is only a day away! What if to test their shinobi, they arranged a training exercise to spirit away an entire village and make it 'look' like it was from thieves?"

"Don't be so stupid, Tenten." the Hyuuga scoffed cruelly as he tossed his hair away from his face and crossed his arms, "If that were the case, then they would be chuunin. A mid-level ninja would not leave so many clues, nor would they stoop to rob a house."

Naruto murmured as he ignored his teammate's argument and scanned the buildings from the center of the village; the market square. '_Mizuki-sensei once told me that if I was chasing a Rock ninja; that I should put myself in his shoes and think like another Rock ninja. So, if I were to kidnap everyone from a town this size, what would I be?_' He puzzled and concentrated hard on the situation, thanking his many hours spent with his silver-haired instructor for teaching him the right way to do missions.

Finally a small fist wrapped around his shoulder and shook him violently, "You have to take my side, Naruto-kun! Tell Neji that a Grass ninja should be able to disguise himself like a bandit to trick us!"

Naruto blinked in surprise, looking from her hand to Neji, then to the ransacked ghost town. After several tense seconds, the blonde shook his head and sighed, "Sorry Tenten, but I'm going to side with Neji on this; no ninja would be this sloppy. I pretended that I was a dirty thief; and it made sense to sneak into the village to kidnap everyone and sell them into slavery or something."

"What are you saying? Why would you side with him; don't you hate Neji?" the young girl urged pleadingly, the look in her eyes screaming for him to choose her over the Hyuuga.

"I don't hate Neji." Naruto grunted as he shot a glance towards the silent genin, shrouded by the inky darkness surrounding them. "It just annoys me that everything comes so easily for him and I have to work my fingers to the knuckle just to keep up."

Tenten crossed her arms and snorted angrily, "Fine. But I still think that there's more than meets the eye."

"What could you have found to give this impression, Tenten?" Neji demanded, somewhat perturbed that she was making such a fuss when he clearly knew what he was doing.

So, to prove that Neji wasn't the only intelligent person there, Tenten grinned and explained her findings, "There's a cave just west of Shien no Sato that would be a perfect hideout. But the unusual thing about it is that there aren't any footprints around it at all."

"Not even animal tracks?" Neji asked curiously.

"None." Tenten replied smugly, "Why they would abandon such a perfect spot, I wonder."

Naruto frowned as he tried to follow along with his teammate's conversation, but he couldn't figure out what was so special about an empty and forgotten cave. "Nn, Tenten-chan…? I don't understand what all of this has to do with the village…"

Cryptically, the kunoichi crossed her arms and grinned, "You'll see tomorrow. It's too dark to check it out tonight, so let's camp for the night in one of the houses and go spelunking first thing in the morning!"

Neji glanced towards Gai-sensei, who seemed to be biting the inside of his lips as if to contain his wild and untamed youth. Was he trying to cover his excitement or keeping himself from correcting them for their errors? Unable to decide, the white-eyed genin shrugged and went along with Tenten's plan, if only to see where she was going with it; girls could be annoyingly cunning when they had to…

- Elsewhere -

The leather hide that served as a door to a large tent rustled as it was eased confidently aside and two dark figures helped themselves inside where a brutish, scarred man sat glaring death. The man wore nothing but his pants and was tied with wire to a wooden support beam. "You don't become the leader of the bandits through strength alone; I'm smart enough to realize the situation I'm in."

"Then this will go much smoother than I had expected." a woman replied smugly. Slowly she walked up to the bandit leader and simply snapped the wire with her bare hands, fearlessly freeing him. "I'm sure you're somewhat annoyed with our actions, so I have an offer to make you."

Before the man could respond, the dark figure beside the woman dropped a large sack of money in front of him; what had to be 30,000 yen spilled out of the top as it struck the ground. "You're going to take care of a little problem for us." the male accomplice commanded in a gruff voice, using a tone that practically made people want to follow his orders. "Get your men prepared."

"What? Now?" the bandit leader demanded, not daring to reach towards the sack of money just yet; not with the pair of shadowy figures glaring down at him. He said it himself that he wasn't just muscle.

"No, get them yesterday…" the man growled softly. Suddenly he reached out and punched at the bandit, venomously jeering at his comment, "Of course now!" Before his hand could strike, something blurred through the gloom and wrapped around his wrist. If he didn't know any better he would have thought that he'd been captured with a steel vice, but it was actually a woman's hand.

"That's not necessary… he knows his place." The frightening woman murmured as she turned to leave the tent. "Oh, and don't waste our time waking every bastard you have…" she murmured softly before simply vanishing into the night as if she were a part of it.

Before following his partner out through the tent flap, the man chuckled as he glanced into the bandit leader's hateful eyes and said, "If you pull this off, maybe we'll have something better than mere money to offer you."

"Just get out!" the scarred man growled venomously, every syllable dripping with murderous intent.

- River country border -

Kiba groaned and rolled over in his sleeping bag. He'd never been a morning person; in fact, his sister Hana had gone so far as to order her own animal companion to drag her little brother out of bed, using the floor as a hard alarm clock to rouse him in the past. However, today he'd been awoken by a small whine. "Nng, just go in a bush and use the bathroom, Aka…"

Before he could finish giving instructions to his dog, something hard and heavy smashed into his temple. "How dare you make such a suggestion, dog-boy?" Ino roared inches from his ears. "How can you expect a lady such as myself to do something so private behind a BUSH!?"

"What the hell!?" Kiba barked as he sat bolt upright in bed and glared at the kunoichi accusingly pointing a finger at him. "Who the hell said anything about such a blonde idiot?" he growled as he climbed into a fighting crouch.

As he did so, Akamaru wandered back up to his master and gave a curious little bark; which in dog speech meant '_I took my piss in the bush like you said, but why are you so angry at that girl?_'

"Hey, what's will all of the noise?" Asuma groaned as he merely glanced up from the tree trunk that he fallen asleep leaning against. "Is something the matter, Yamanaka?"

"I have no privacy out here! How can I use the bathroom if there ISN'T one at all!? I'm not going to _go_ with all of this boys watching!" the preteen announced, pointing her finger accusingly at the now conscious male genin.

"Ugh…" Shikamaru moaned in an annoyed tone, "I knew that traveling with women would be a hassle…"

Chouji, on the other hand, felt a little more supportive and chivalrous towards his teammate. "Don't worry, Ino-san; I'll make sure that no one peeks at you while you go! I'll protect your privacy with my life!"

"Ano…" Hinata mumbled softly. She was covering her cheeks with her tiny hands, trying to hide her blush, but this was little more than an exercise in futility. "Chouji-san… could you protect mine, too?" she uttered in a tiny voice.

Chouji put on a gigantic smile and beat his massive chest like a drum with his fist, "It would be my honor! If anyone even tries I'll knock them over with these arms of mine!" he boasted as he patted his muscles in turn.

"Try to be quick, girls; we still have two days ahead of us." Kurenai called from the treetops, evidently having scouted the area with Shino. It had been agreed that she'd take each of her genin in turn, once on the way to Suna and again on the return trip; and today was Shino's time to shine.

Asuma yawned, scratched his back and cracked his neck as he stood up. "The boys can go right here; just turn around and go against the side of a tree."

"I'm already two steps ahead of you, Sarutobi-san!" Kiba laughed over his shoulder as he pissed on the same bush that Akamaru had used, causing the little dog to whine that HIS area was being marked by someone else. At this, Ino scoffed and rushed off in the opposite direction to do her business; leaving Hinata to bow to Chouji for his consideration before following after the blonde.

- Shien no Sato -

Gai's team also had a rude wake-up call; but instead of yelling and fighting, they were roused to the cold, suffocating feeling of a malignant presence. Four pairs of eyes cracked open, and because of the dim light seeping in through the shutters of the home they had camped out in, they were able to identify the ring of men standing around them.

"It's the bandits!" Neji cried alertly as the Konoha-shinobi leaped off of their sleeping bags and stood back-to-back, using each other to cover their blind-spots.

"And that's not all, punks!" a middle-aged man laughed darkly as he raised his clawed hands in front of his clean-shaven, yet scarred face; each finger was adorned with a gleaming, iron spike. "You'll never guess who escaped…" he teased.

"Tenten, Neji, Naruto!" Gai called stoically as he glared at the grinning bandits. When he had their undivided attention; as one would expect from Gai, he asked, "Who is this man?"

The clawed man bearing an upside-down Suna headband laughed viciously before speaking over the genin's declarations of ignorance. "Why don't I just carve my name into your backs with these fingers?" And as if it was an afterthought, he threatened, "You pathetic louts had better not mess this up! If you do, I'll scratch my name into your backs, too."

Thinking quickly, Tenten whispered to her teammates, "Neji, how many of them are there? We might have to split up to take them all."

"Eleven including the leader…" he murmured in reply as he scanned the bandits with his Byakugan. "This is the plan, then; Maito Gai will assist Tenten with clearing out the bandits while Naruto and I keep the ninja busy." The girl nodded in affirmation.

"So you've finally recognized my skill? Haven't you, Neji?" Naruto laughed as his grip tightened on the sai.

"Concentrate on the fight, Naruto. If this man recognizes us, then he'll likely know our fighting style. This will not be an easy battle." Neji reminded as he widened his stance and narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly the Suna nukenin launched forward with his iron claws bared and aimed lethally at Tenten's throat; he had a plan of his own! If the chuunin had been expecting her to cry out or dodge, it was nothing to the surprise when she yanked out a scroll and swiped it at him, causing a number of large kunai and sickles to burst into being and launch at towards him. Tenten had learned a new trick; she no longer needed to hook her summons to her belt to be thrown later.

"Burn, my passion of youth!" Gai screamed spastically before exploding into action, flinging one of the dirty thieves back into and through a nearby wall with a powerful taijutsu kick. As he spun in place, he threw his left arm out, smashing it into another man's chest hard enough to make him cough up blood as he crashed through a window on the other side of the room.

"Interesting…" the nukenin teased as he deftly dodged the incoming projectiles. He came to a stop by the shattered window and paused, grinning at Naruto and Neji as they wound their way towards him, "The shinobi of the Sand run like the wind; can you forest dwellers keep up?" In the blink of an eye, even as Naruto's sai cut through the air where he had just been, the chuunin dove out the window and began his escape.

"Damn it!" Neji swore under his breath as he leapt and landed on the window sill. Louder, he called to Gai, "Naruto and I will pursue him. We're going!" The white-eyed shinobi then turned and vanished through the shattered window, followed closely by his blonde teammate.

- Preview -

What are Baki and the Yondaime Kazekage planning? Does it have anything to do with team 8 and 10's C-rank mission? The secret behind Shien no Sato is uncovered, but can team Gai prevail against the odds? And now that the Wave country's master bridge builder has made it to Konoha, who's going to help him get home and protect his bridge from highwaymen?


	12. C Rank Rookies

Author's Note: I've rewritten the second half of chapter nine, as well as made a few grammar corrections and general fixes to several others.

Some major changes being that I changed Takeshi's surname to Ippaki and making him a defector from Rock rather than Sand.

And I really don't know why I put that filler chapter in so early, but I set things straight anyway. Seishuun, dattebayo!

**Chapter 12: C Rank Rookies**

- Shien no Sato -

Gai-sensei frowned as Neji crouched in the windowsill of the shattered pane Chimaru had escaped through, watching the foreign chuunin dashing off into the morning fog. "Naruto and I will chase him. We're going!" the genin had announced before simply leaping though the window with Naruto hot on his heels, too angry to mutter a single word.

"It can't be helped." Gai complained to Tenten moments before kicking a man in the knee and breaking it, forcing him to fall to the ground and cry out in agony. "Tenten; don't hold back, but don't kill them if you can!" the jounin suggested after dodging a sword that had been swung at his throat and slamming his right wrist into his attacker's nose, breaking it. Even though he had chosen to leave the mission to his 'passionate young students' and not interfere, he could hardly turn down a good fight, and it didn't look like they'd let him passively watch from the sidelines anyway.

The kunoichi grunted as she drew up behind her teacher and pressed her back against his to protect their flanks while they talked, "I got it, Gai-sensei! We need to interrogate them about the missing villagers! But we should hurry and finish these guys so…"

"No." the jounin growled shortly, momentarily surprising Tenten. The bandits were carefully inching forward, knowing better than to blindly rush a man known as a Beast to the world. "As much as I hate to admit it, but we have to trust that Naruto-kun and Neji can handle their situation alone. Also, we have to plan for the worst case scenario…"

Tenten gulped, secretly glad that her teacher didn't say her fears aloud; that it was possible for the foreign ninja to kill both of her teammates. "First things first, then; let's kick these guy's asses!"

- Konoha -

Rock Lee grinned as he proudly watched the young man standing before him in his bedroom mirror. Yesterday he and the pink-haired angel had showed Kakashi up by distracting him long enough for Sasuke to come out of his blind-spot and grab the two bells before taking off into the forest. They had figured that a victory over the jounin was a victory for them all; all thanks to Lee's ninja book, anyway.

But today was even more special, because it would be the Kakashi-lead Team 7's first official mission! Even though he knew it would be a D-rank, Lee was ecstatic to be working so close to his friends and teacher.

So it was on this note that the new genin tightened his headband, nodded at his get-up; the standard Konoha uniform with a green tank top in place of the flack jacket; and dashed out of the house, his breakfast toast bitten firmly in his teeth. Kakashi-sensei had asked the three children to meet him on a bridge near the Hokage's tower, and even though Lee already knew the man would be late, he rushed to his destination at full speed, too excited to care.

However, a cold breeze seemed to come up from the ground when Rock Lee arrived at the bridge in the Hokage tower's shadow. Hatake Kakashi was already there; in fact, he was 10 minutes early. Puzzled, the look-alike slowed to a stop, watching his sensei and two teammates staring at him.

"So you're here, are you?" Sasuke accused, not bothering to stand up off of the bridge on which he was leaning. "I was worried you'd show up on the dot."

"Any self-respecting shinobi arrives early!" Lee replied with mock-serenity. "I would have been here an hour ago, but my mother put my clothes in the wash without telling me and I had to wait…"

"Ew, your mom still does your laundry?" Sakura giggled harshly, eyeing the genin as if he were a child. "If I were you I'd die of shame if my mommy did everything for me."

Sasuke paused to glare at Sakura from behind her back before gracing Lee with his attention, "I'd count myself lucky if I had a mother that would do my laundry. But she's dead." He replied; as expected Sakura fell silent, feeling too sad to tease Lee anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun…" the pink-haired angel moaned softly, attempting to cheer him up with her closeness. "If you wish, you can leave your laundry at my house and I'll do it for you…"

He merely ignored her and spoke to Lee again, driving home the point that he was worth talking to and she wasn't; she'd have to earn that right. "However, while I'm working to restore my clan to its rightful place, I'm going to be strengthening myself so that something like this can NEVER happen again."

"I have a question about that, Sasuke-kun." Lee stated evenly, carefully controlling his voice so that he didn't sound too eager; he still remembered Kakashi's lesson to reserve his stamina, which meant staying calm in any situation. He wasn't quite on the jounin's level just yet, but he was working on it.

When he had the Uchiha's permission, Lee asked his question, "How are you going to revive your clan? Are you going to marry four wives?" He wasn't kidding; Lee seriously had no idea.

Sasuke paused and crooked his head to one side, as if seriously considering it; once again Sakura blushed, hardly daring to believe that Sasuke would even think about something like that! She'd have him all for herself one way or another, of that she was certain! However, the boy chuckled and shook his head, admitting that he had been joking, "No, I looked into it already and the laws of Konoha forbid having more than one spouse. What I'm going to do is…"

Lee held his breath and leaned forward, eagerly awaiting his friend's answer; Kakashi also peeked over the edge of his book, evidently equally curious. Sakura clasped her hands together, barely able to stand the anticipation as Sasuke grinned and leaned against the bridge so that he could look into the sky.

"You'll have to beat me in a sparring match if you want to find out." Sasuke finished, glancing towards the bug-eyed genin and grinning like a wolf. "From what I've seen during Kakashi's bell test, you're a fairly well-skilled shinobi for your age; I'm sure you'll do it eventually. Either that or you'll see it when I do it."

"Well," Kakashi cut in to stifle Lee's challenge, smoothly tucking his adult novel into a pouch at his back, "Since we're all here now, we should go ahead and see the Hokage; we do have a mission today."

Lee didn't say it aloud, be he secretly wondered if the mission was somehow connected to why his teacher uncharacteristically showed up on time. Thankfully they were less than five minutes from the Hokage Tower, so he wouldn't be puzzled for very long… he hoped.

- Konoha mission chamber -

Inside the tower within the sight of the stone faces carved into Hokage Mountain was a large room with chuunin seated behind a long table. In the middle of the table laden with papers and scrolls sat the age-worn Hokage, resplendent in his red and white robe sagely puffing on a pipe.

Team seven had the distinct honor of receiving their mission directly from the village leader, whose job it was to explain how missions worked and why they were performed. However, after giving the same speech he'd given countless times over his career as Fire Shadow, the old man looked Kakashi in the eye and let out a puff of smoke. "Normally rookies only do D-rank tasks around the village until they have had enough training to attempt anything tougher."

"Normally?" Sasuke murmured softly, quickly catching on to the elder's intent. '_He couldn't possible be thinking_…'

"But I felt that if your classmates are capable of accomplishing something like this, then why shouldn't you three?" the Hokage continued as if he hadn't heard Sasuke, even though he had. "I have a mission for you to do, however due to unforeseen complications your client will not be available until tomorrow; so for now please become acquainted with the young man I've assigned to your team for now." And with the wave of his arm, the door to the mission chamber creaked open and a ninja entered.

Barely 19 years old, the slim young man came to a stop beside Kakashi and offered a rigid bow, greeting the children with a grunt. When he returned to a full up-right position, the Hokage shook his head and let out a stream of pipe smoke, "Please don't be so formal, Takeshi-kun; everyone in Konohagakure is part of my family so I'd hate it if one of my sons didn't get along with the rest of my children."

'Takeshi-kun' paused long enough to glance from one chuunin behind the table to the next, each one nodding and smiling in turn. Finally he glanced towards Kakashi's students and blinked at the kids. "Ippaki Takeshi. I was recently enlisted in the Konoha military at the rank of jounin; but I will gladly give my life for the benefit of my new home, Konohagakure."

Kakashi stared levelly at the teen standing across from him, dressed in khaki pants and a black tank top; the young man had an air of experience around him that could not be ignored. '_Oh well, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it… that's the saying kids use these days, isn't it? Or is it not?_' The Copy Ninja smiled under his mask and gently patted Lee on the shoulder, "Well, the mission is tomorrow so why don't we burn that bridge when we get to it? For now we should all get out of the Hokage's hair and get to know each other a little better; we'll need to be on good terms if we're going to complete a C-ranked mission so early."

This should have gone smoothly, and it would have if Kakashi had spent more time with Lee and less with the book he'd read a dozen times. The three children stopped in mid-conversation and slowly looked up at their sensei, each blinking at him in surprise and embarrassment. After an eternity of awkward silence, Lee coughed into his fist to correct his sensei, "I agree that we should cross that bridge when we come to it, and that we should formally introduce ourselves elsewhere."

The Hokage didn't bother to suppress the grin that had slipped onto his face, '_I'm almost 80 years old and even I know that saying! But don't lose your touch, Hatake Kakashi, or my adorable little children won't respect you as they should_…'

- Shien no Sato -

Somewhere along the way through the abandoned village, perhaps when they had followed the man onto the rooftops, Naruto had managed to get in front of Neji. "Get back here, you stupid coward!" the blonde genin roared as he landed after jumping a gap between two buildings.

"Naruto, calm yourself!" Neji demanded softly enough that the chuunin leading them couldn't overhear. "It's obvious that he doubts his ability to take all four of us on at once, so he's separating us from our jounin-sensei." Naruto glared back at his teammate, but offered a nod as if to say that he had already figured it out. Whether he believed the blonde had foreseen it or not, Neji continued his observations, "It looks like he's leading us towards the market place…"

"Yeah, maybe… This guy likes to dig holes and use genjutsu to cover them so that he can jump out and hit you." Naruto explained, also mindful to keep his voice low enough so that only his partner could hear.

"…Is that so?" Neji murmured to himself as he watched the man fleeing to the town center, which was where the market place was. "My Byakugan will be able to spot him regardless of where he comes out, but he'll probably go right for you first."

Rather than gulping or asking why it would be him, Naruto narrowed his eyes and nodded, murmuring, "I wouldn't have it any other way… I want him to fight me! Because if I can't handle this guy, what chance do I have of defeating you and making you tell me your life goal?"

Neji risked a glance at Naruto to see his face; he wanted to conserve his chakra for the fight so he had his Byakugan off; he found the blonde staring ahead with a look of utmost determination on his face. It was strange… when they had met, Neji was sure that his teammates would be worthless, doomed to forever hold him and the jounin back. But now he was beginning to realize that if someone could last this long as a ninja, it was a given that they'd learn something along the way. "This man is a lot stronger than I am; he's already a chuunin after all… perhaps I can't defeat him without Naruto's help…"

It was now Naruto's turn to look at his teammate, but his face was dark and scowling. "What are you talking about? You're Hyuuga Neji! No nameless Sand ninja can…"

Neji kicked off of the edge of a roof and landed skillfully on the next building, his arms flung out behind to negate wind resistance. "It's realistic that a man three times my age should be more skilled than I; and he's from a village that I know nothing about as well. If we put aside any misgivings we have towards each other and use teamwork, we might have a chance against the foreign chuunin."

Naruto blinked a couple times at Neji before sighing and returning his attention to the back of the man barely staying ahead of them. "Yeah… I'll acknowledge that you're smart, so what do we do?"

Neji chuckled softly, "I know that you were saving a couple jutsus to use on me, but we have to go all out if we're going to survive this fight. When I say to hit him, use your strongest move; I'll certainly have found an opening by the time we get to that point."

"My strongest jutsu, huh?" Naruto whispered to himself as he followed the chuunin along the roofs; they were within sight of the market place now, so the inevitable battle to the death was less than a minute away. "That jutsu Mizuki taught me will definitely be my most powerful… Too bad I can't use it on Neji now, but…"

As expected, the Sand nukenin spun on his toes and flicked a pair of kunai at the children he'd separated before finishing his spin and throwing himself towards the ground. Unable to do anything but dodge the knives and passively watch, Naruto and Neji shared a knowing glance when the man dove into the dirt as if it were a pool of water. This was it.

- Wind country border -

Asuma called for a halt before simply dropping through the tree branches towards the ground. As usual, Kurenai called to Shino for another scouting session, but the bearded jounin shook his head and pulled his cigarette out of his mouth, returning it to the pack with its brothers. "The temperature here is three degrees higher than it was a mile ago." The male shinobi mentioned as he tucked his cigarettes into a pocket hidden in his vest. "I'll be right back."

And before anyone could complain, the bearded man kicked off of a tree trunk and took off along the upper branches, leaving the children frowning after him, annoyed that they'd been left behind like… well, children.

It didn't take two minutes for the jounin to spot them, but to make absolute sure, he came to a silent stop on a high branch. From up here he could push chakra into his eyes and ears so that he could see and hear more clearly over long distances.

A teenaged girl was complaining to one of her companions below, "We've been waiting here for three hours! We could be training, but no… sensei told us to meet the Konoha shinobi and escort them back to Suna. Man, what's up with Konoha lately?"

"Onee-san, shut up for once." A young man grunted as he shifted something on his back to keep it from digging into one spot for too long. "We're already stronger than all of the brats of Suna, so why should we train more than we have to? Jeez, must be that time of the mon…" A loud punch and a grunt of pain told Asuma how the girl thought about her teammate's words; he smiled in silent amusement. '_The kids are in for a real treat_…_The Kazekage's children are our guides._' he thought as he shook his head bemusedly.

"Stop playing around." The third Sand ninja commanded dangerously, "The ninjas of the Leaf could already be here."

"Who's playing around?" Kankurou growled accusingly, advancing on his younger brother dangerously and grabbing a handful of his brother's shirt. "You're the one that wanted to see the jackrabbits along the way, Gaara!"

Upon seeing the super-risky action her brother had performed, Temari took a measured breath and suggested, "Kankurou, go looking around and see if you can find some clues. They were a little fast last time we met them, so maybe the Konoha-shinobi have already gone past us?" she said in hopes of cooling her brothers off.

"We're just trying to pass the time, Temari… jeez." Kankurou scoffed as he released Gaara's collar and instead affectionately rubbed his hair, "Gaara wouldn't really hurt me anyway, would you?"

After a moment of consideration, the red-haired boy tiled his head to one side and murmured, "If I really had to…"

Kankurou scoffed and cuffed the boy on the skull, of which wasn't blocked because the black-clad genin didn't truly mean his kin any harm. "I really hate brats, you know."

At this, Temari sighed and lightly pressed the tips of her lithe fingers against her face, "And I have two of them to deal with…"

Before her brother's could respond, something fell from the treetops and landed in front of the three children. Thankfully however, the three of them had enough training to spot the man's uniform and realize who he was before they made the mistake of attacking him; Sarutobi Asuma had dropped in to say hello.

- Shien no Sato -

Naruto and Neji stood in the middle of the market place, standing back to back; one with a pair of sai at the ready, the other with an eye jutsu active. Neji didn't need to glance towards his partner when he spoke, so without turning his head, he asked, "That jutsu we mentioned… what is its range?"

Knowing that his older teammate was still formulating a plan, Naruto grudgingly answered, "Medium range… I have to throw it at the person. Like a kunai."

"I see." The boy genius murmured, not taking his eyes off of the uncovered holes in the ground. One of the draw backs to the Byakugan was that while it could pierce through genjutsu as easily as flesh, he could not see through the ground. Therefore he could see the many holes their opponent had dug, but not where he was in the tunnels they connected to. "I'll say '_orange_' when it's the right time to throw your strongest attack. Got it?"

"I got it, damn it." Naruto growled. Neji had to forgive him, even he was nervous about their predicament; the tension was making their stress level raise. The blonde suddenly grunted and nudged Neji with his elbow to get his attention, "I think I have an idea!"

"Say it quietly." Neji replied softly, carefully scanning the dug-up village square. He didn't know why the chuunin was waiting so long; perhaps he was waiting for them to drop their guard? He couldn't have dragged them out here so that he could loop around and kill Gai and Tenten first, could he?

"You know how you can touch people and close their ten-somethings? You close 64 of them, don't you?" Naruto asked, and when Neji confirmed it, the boy grinned, "This time why don't you only do half of them."

"Only closing 32 tenketsu points won't help against such a strong opponent, Naruto…"

"No, no! Listen to me damn it!" the boy swore under his breath, "After you've done that, use a Kaiten to throw him back. It's stronger up close isn't it?"

Neji's eyes widened at the revelation of sheer genius that Naruto had somehow stumbled upon with this tactic. The boy must have been watching him for a long time in hopes of finding a weakness to exploit… But as he stood there facing death with his teammate, Neji couldn't help but wonder how Gai and Tenten were faring.

- Elsewhere -

With an earsplitting slam and a girlish scream of "Kyaa!", Tenten was choke-slammed into and through one of the wooden walls of the bedroom they had camped in by the burly and battle-scarred bandit leader. The man stopped and pinned the kunoichi to the floor in the next room, roughly pinching her windpipe shut and threatening to strangle her single-handedly; he grinned hungrily at her desperate struggle to get up.

Gai gasped and ripped his eyes open to look in the direction of his sweet, female student; he had just been posing dramatically after having knocked a man out by stopping his hand a half inch from his face. Slowly his eyes narrowed dangerously as he regarded the muscled brute that was violently strangling the thirteen year old girl. "I will not forgive any man who'll…" he roared as he crouched to perform one of his famous Konoha Whirlwind kicks.

"N-no sensei…" Tenten grunted as she feebly clutched the man's thick wrist with her own dexterous digits, fighting back with every ounce of willpower that she had, "Just because I'm a… a girl… everyone thinks that I can't keep up." Tenten gritted her white teeth, glaring up into the side of her dominator's face; the leader was staring at Gai, silently telling him that if he were to take even one step into the room, he'd kill the girl in front of him. "It's that misconception…"

Before she could finish, Gai-sensei had bitten his thumb and blasted out hand seals so fast that his hands had temporarily gone invisible before touching the blood to the floor. "Kuchiyose: Kotetsugame!" he cried moments before the bandit strengthened the pressure on Tenten's throat, aiming to kill her rather than just make her pass out. However, out of a cloud of white smoke, a turtle with a metallic shell appeared between the girl and the bandit.

"Steel Turtle, we'll use the Falling Star Pupil technique!" Gai-sensei suggested as he jumped into the air, performing a graceful front flip as he did; at the same time the steel-shelled ninja turtle bent its knees and slammed its back into their shocked opponent's chest, tossing him into the air like a rag doll. With pinpoint precision and expert teamwork, Gai finished his flip, ending it with a devastating kick to the man's lower spine; and with surprising agility, Kotetsugame managed to get under the bandit just as he was flung to the ground. Mr. Leader was unable to cry out due to the air being forcefully expelled from his lungs.

Coughing, Tenten forced herself to sit up, gently rubbing her bruised throat. She turned her attention to a man loosely wielding a sword, having barely missed cutting Gai in half before the bowl-cut warrior had jumped in the air; it was humanly impossible for the guy to have kept up with a jounin level Taijutsu specialist. After gritting her teeth, the kunoichi dipped her hand into her pocket and withdrew her last scroll; it was the one that Naruto had given her on her birthday. Wildly she yanked it open and watched as a pair of sai with a rope tied between them fired towards the bandit, quickly winding around his legs and tipping him. Was he the last one?

"I'm sorry if you wanted to handle that by yourself, Tenten." The green-glad jounin apologized stoically as he slowly approached his student and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. "However, the shinobi of Konoha value teamwork and friendship more than anything else. Because you know, there is no '_I_' in team, but there are eight eyes!" And after flashing a thumbs-up gesture, the bushy-browed ninja grinned at the girl with bright, clean teeth.

Tenten had been about to get mad at her greedy sensei, but instantly lost her temper upon hearing his corniest speech ever. Finally she sighed and brushed his hand off of her shoulder as she muttered, "Jeez, Gai-sensei… even in the middle of a dangerous fight you manage to embarrass me…"

Despite the situation, Maito Gai couldn't help but laugh.

- Suna -

Baki gazed blankly into his bedroom mirror, regarding the person in the reflection as someone other than himself. The Kazekage had left the village several hours ago, asking the jounin not to let his children know what the two had conspired to before fading into the shadows dressed in his combat outfit.

As for Baki, he was now dressed in a green robe with a white overcoat and a domed hat that bore the kanji "Kaze". The jounin was no longer a jounin, he was now Godaime Kazekage; and it was on his shoulders what to do about Suna's dire funds predicament.

There was suddenly a knock on his bedroom door, but it didn't startle him because he had already sensed the intruder's presence. "Speak." Baki commanded.

"Godaime Kazekage-sama, we've just been informed that your students have met up with the shinobi from Konohagakure. They should arrive tomorrow at noon." The informant stated from the other side of the door.

"I want you to make reservations in our finest hotel and restaurant; our guests will be staying the night."

After a brief pause, the unknown ninja gave an affirming sound before simply leaving the way he came. That was the way things worked in Suna; practical and impersonal.

Baki turned back towards the mirror and stared at his reflection for a long moment. Finally he turned and left the room. He had a village to save…

- Preview -

Negotiations with the Kazekage; duels to the death with nukenin of the Sand; a trip to the country of Waves with a defector… Konoha's rookies will determine the relations between the foreign lands. How will it all end? Will peace continue between the villages, or will bloody war ravage the land once more?


	13. Naruto's Plan

**Chapter 13: Naruto's Plan**

- Shien no Sato -

Naruto and Neji stood back to back, their hearts beating in unison as adrenaline burning through their systems. Where was the chuunin? Was he timing his attack, or had he left to destroy their captain without interference. It was a general rule of thumb that the kunoichi of a team was usually the weakest; that man would make quick work of Tenten!

"Neji…" Naruto murmured softly, his keen, blue eyes darting over his shoulder towards his dark-haired teammate, who grunted in response. "I think I remember something about this guy; I fought him a last year, when we went to Suna. Do you remember that?"

"Tenten and I fought against his partner, so I have no idea how you and that kunoichi of the Sand defeated him." Neji reminded coldly, hating that their opponent still hadn't shown himself. It was just like a ninja to remain a mystery; never showing when they'll strike until the moment before the act. You were usually dead in the next instant. '_Where is this man hiding_?'

"I don't remember that either." Naruto admitted. No one had ever accused him of having the best memory… "But I do remember that he liked to flank; he'd always hit us in the back."

Neji stood in silence as he meticulously processed this new information, and carefully plotted probable strategies they, and he, could put into play. This was a dangerous game whose only outcome could be death, and at the moment the foreigner had the greatest advantage; age, experience and training. "Naruto, how willing are you to risk your life if it means that we can find an opening?"

"I'm a shinobi… I've risked my life more times than I can count. You're the smart one, Neji; tell me what I need to do." Naruto murmured and the sound of his heart pounding harder and quicker in his chest; oddly, a tingle ran throughout his body as he came to terms with his mortality. This wasn't something that came easy to a twelve-year-old.

"We're going to split up. Jump forward three meters and turn around as if you're going to watch my back; this will put one of the holes into your blind spot. If he goes for the bait, keep him busy long enough for me to make it over to you. We'll try your strategy first, and if that fails we'll use my desperation ploy."

Naruto gulped as he memorized the plan and steeled himself accordingly. With a nod, he tensed and threw himself forward, noticing that Neji mirrored him in perfect synch. The blonde landed and spun in place, bringing the pale-eyed Hyuuga into his sight, crouched for battle and carefully watching every corner of the battlefield.

Suddenly, Neji shifted and began running right for Naruto at breakneck speed; it could only mean one thing! The blonde gritted his teeth as he twisted and flung his arms out, aiming for the brown blur that had to be his attacker's right arm. Shding!

"You're dead, child!" the Sand ninja growled as he continued to hold Naruto's sai around the dull blade; he had parried it with the backs of his neko-te before wrapping his hand around the rounded metal of the weapon. And due to his positioning, it left Naruto's right side and back wide open for attack; the ninja was going to rip his side open and let him bleed to death! In the time since he'd first fought Naruto, he had made sure to learn how to deal with sai-users; he now knew that only the tip was sharp; the rest was dull, dull, dull.

However, Naruto wasn't without his own back-up plan. "Futon: Kazegatana no jutsu!" he cried as he pulled back on his weapon and threw himself back and away from the chuunin, grinning as the man gasped and clutched his bloodied hand. But before Neji could get to him he dropped feet first into his hole, vanishing from sight yet again.

Neji swore as he skidded to a stop and returned to his battle-stance. Without glancing his way, the Hyuuga called out to Naruto, "What the Hell is that move? When did you learn that?"

Naruto couldn't help but grin proudly, despite the dangerous situation. "She said that it was a Sunagakure technique, but it's a Wind Sword ninjutsu that Temari-chan taught me! I've been working on it with Mizuki-sensei."

"So, it doesn't use hand seals? Why didn't you tell me about it sooner?" Neji growled furiously; he could have figured it into his plan. "We could have been finished by now!"

"I told you! I worked on it with Mizuki-sensei; I can make my Wind-chakra surround one of my sai without hand seals. But only with the right one, so I can't make two swords." Naruto explained quickly.

"Well, he knows about the jutsu now, so it won't work on him again." Neji growled as he scanned the holes, sure that whereever he was, their opponent was coming up with his own plan. What Neji had to figure out was if he'd want revenge on Naruto for cutting him, or if he'd go after the Hyuuga, considering how much more dangerous the prodigy was to him. '_Should we both stand by a hole to bait him out? No, he won't fall for that again, either! If I was against two close-ranged fighters, I'd sneak onto one of the rooftops and attack from there; but is that something this man would do?_'

"God damn it…" Naruto seethed under his breath, his reddening eyes darting across the unmarred ground, "Where is he hiding? I'm going to rip him apart with my bare hands!"

Neji glanced towards Naruto, taking note of the angry red chakra surging throughout his chakra circulatory system. He didn't know what was happening to Naruto, but he couldn't afford an unknown factor to add further uncertainty to the situation; he needed to know all about everything that happened or his plans would be pointless. "We're fleeing, Naruto! I don't care about your pride; we need Gai-sensei's help for this."

The blonde was flabbergasted at the very thought of asking for help, "We can still…"

"Naruto…" the Hyuuga whispered coldly, "I'm the leader of the team for this mission and Gai is my tool; I need to use him to his fullest potential. If you don't follow me, I will not be held responsible for your death, so calm yourself and follow me!" And without another word, Neji turned and darted towards one of the nearest buildings.

"…" Naruto narrowed his crimson eyes at his teammate, furious at being told to fall back when he was sure that they could win; he never felt as strong in his life as he did right now! Finally, Naruto flung his arms behind his back and dashed forward, leaving the chuunin and his pride behind in the dust as he rocketed up to and past Neji.

- Elsewhere -

Gai and Tenten had rounded every available chair they could find in the home they had slept in, and one by one tied up their prisoners using rope, wire, and in one case, a rolled-up bed sheet. Outside of hearing range, Konoha's green beast nodded towards the bloodied bandit leader as he patted the kunoichi on the shoulder and grunted.

"You want _me_ to interrogate them?" Tenten gasped in surprise, taken aback by the responsibility that such a task demanded; what if she asked the wrong questions, or couldn't figure out if he was lying?

"Yes!" Gai cried as he clapped Tenten on the shoulder a little harder, causing her to wince and bend her knees under the assault, "Most chuunin can do something like this, so show me what you've got, Tenten-chan!"

Slowly Tenten built up her confidence, reminding herself that she was going to do anything in her power to become as strong and renowned as the legendary kunoichi, Tsunade-hime! "I'll do it, Gai-sensei. The only time I've seen an interrogation was a year ago with Kaori-san, but I'll figure this out; I'm just as good as Neji and Naruto-kun, you'll see!"

"Go and make me proud, Tenten!" Gai exclaimed softly, his voice thick and his eyes glistening with manly tears of passion and pride, "I get so emotional when it comes to my wonderful students!"

"Right…" Tenten murmured as she strode up to the severely wounded leader of the bandits, ready to begin her questioning. However, she could tell right away that something was unusual, and it only took the kunoichi several seconds more to figure it out; the man wasn't angry. Was it possible that he knew something, something crucial, that Tenten was completely unable to fathom? She could do nothing but keep her suspicions to herself as she began the interrogation. "So, how long have you been working around here?" Tenten asked in a sweet tone, using the very voice that girls would use on guys when they wanted something.

"What a bad situation we're in, guys…" the ruined leader murmured, receiving a series of grunts from his best men. "They'll kill us if we mouth a single word about them, wouldn't they?" he said to his fellow bandits, again receiving a number of guttural agreements. "We'll probably be killed in a Konoha prison for the things we've done, our crimes as well as those attributed to us."

Tenten frowned and sighed as she shook her head in defeat, "I don't think they'll cooperate with me, Gai-sensei. There's no way a thirteen year-old-girl standing beside her teacher can hope to intimidate lawless thugs."

"Is that how it is?" Gai mumbled as he rubbed his shaven chin in thought. "Then I'll help you as your teacher; I'll begin and let my precious students take over once I've gotten them to cooperate! As Konoha's Noble Green Beast, I will…"

Suddenly there were new presences in the room! Silent and powerful, four others strode out of the shadows, the first firmly placing a hand on the bandit leader's shoulder. "I'm very sorry, Gai-san, but I'd like to take over from here."

The Noble Green Beast stopped mid-sentence and gaped at the newcomers, dressed in the slate grey fatigues of the Sand village Black Ops. "Ka-Kaorin-chan!? Why are you…?"

The ANBU woman smiled at the Leaf ninjas as she lifted her free hand and ran her fingers through her loose, brown hair. "The Kazekage's orders are confidential, but we've been asked to investigate this case. '_He_' has been seen passing through this area." The leader of the thugs sneered and glared at the kunoichi, swearing at his horrible luck at having been blackmailed, and then interrogated by the Special Forces.

"Then…" Tenten murmured breathlessly, glancing from the bandit to the ANBU, "Then you know who kidnapped everyone in this village?"

Unfortunately, Kaori frowned and slowly shook her head in negation, "Sorry, but that's not what we're investigating. I have no idea who it could have been."

"Don't worry about it, Tenten!" Gai urged as he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, "Let's leave these guys to Suna; we have to follow Naruto and Neji before they get killed by that chuunin."

Tenten gasped in realization, having forgotten that her teammates were chasing after a dangerous foreign ninja! "The man who said he had escaped; the one with the claws on his fingers! We should hurry, Gai-sensei!"

"One second…" Kaori released her firm grip on the bandit leader's arm to stride up to the Leaf ninjas, her face having gone cold and calculating. "Did this man wear his hitai-ate upside-down?" Gai nodded once, causing Kaori to glare and bite the inside of her lip, "Che… So that guy is in this area, is he?" she whispered.

The smallest ANBU among the Suna Black Ops cleared his throat of bile before ordering, "Track down the nukenin Ashinami Chimaru and assassinate him. After that, begin investigating the disappearances from this village with the Konoha shinobi if they allow it. Use your own judgment when disclosing information, as this could be a probable lead to our mission."

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Kaori cried as she saluted her captain. Moments later she turned back towards Gai and Tenten, "We should hurry or your precious students will lose more than the springtime of their youth. Let's go!" she urged before dashing up to the busted window and diving through it. Landing on the other side unscathed, Kaori paused to wait for her boyfriend and his student. With any hope, Naruto and Neji could manage to stay alive long enough for them to arrive.

- Elsewhere -

Naruto and Neji were weaving between the various abandoned shops in an attempt to flee the superior ninja with their lives and use their jounin to his fullest abilities. Unfortunately, the nukenin from the Sand was faster than they; the two boys gasped and skidded to a stop not ten feet from their deadly adversary.

Crouched horizontally on the side of a wooden building, the chuunin grinned as he bared his claws, "You have a few little tricks that I wasn't aware of; quite a surprise I assure you. So in light of your new abilities, I guess the games must come to an end, and your murder shall begin…"

"Hah… I'm not afraid to die." Naruto growled in between gasps for breath. "Go ahead and scratch me up… I'll kill you if you try." he threatened as he tightened his grip on his sai.

Neji shook his head at his teammate and muttered, "You've used too much chakra to fight, Naruto. Besides, you're faster than I am; I'll fight this man while you get Gai-sensei."

"…" Naruto gazed from the murderous traitor to his panting teammate before warning, "Don't you dare die while I'm gone!" and taking off at a run.

"I won't let you! Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Chimaru roared as he flung both arms out, commanding the wind to pick up and explode towards his targets. Both Naruto and Neji cried out as they were flung off of their feet and pitched into and through the back wall of a clothing shop.

Slowly Naruto grunted and began to climb out of the hole, determined to carry out his orders regardless of what happened to him. He looked up in time to see Chimaru grinning as he ran along the wall, sprinting right at him with his hands clawed and a hungry glint in his eyes. The chuunin nearly laughed at the top of his lungs as his iron neko-te speared into his target's shoulder, spilling blood and forcing the boy to cry out in agony. Instead he taunted the loser, "Looks like you're not going anywhere! So what now?"

Slowly Naruto began to smirk; gradually his clear blue eyes began to pale until they were blank and white, his hair darkening from straw-yellow to tar-black. It was Neji! "I'll use the Hyuuga's hidden martial arts: Gentle Fist style! Hakke, nii sho!" Chimaru's eyes widened in horror as the boy touched his thumb and pointer finger to his chest; he instantly felt his chakra stop flowing to where he'd been tapped. "Yon sho…"

Chimaru tried to rip his claws out of Neji's shoulder and make a break for it, but even as he tried, a second Neji leapt out of the building and tightly gripped the chuunin around the wrist, locking him in place! "You tricky little pieces of shi…!"

"Juu-roku sho! Mold your chakra, I'm almost done here!" Neji commanded, ignoring the dribble of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"I've been molding every ounce I have since we began running!" the second Neji announced with a determined look on his face, glaring into Chimaru's worried visage.

"Screw you two!" the nukenin howled as he clawed his right hand and made to slash open Neji's throat, a desperate gleam in his terrified eyes.

"San-juu-nii sho!" Neji roared as he twisted in place to free himself of his pin. Naruto knew what his teammate was going to do even before he began to release chakra from his every pore; he released Chimaru's arm and threw himself out of range, landing with his hands formed in a seal. With Naruto a relatively safe distance away, Neji shouted, "Kaiten!" as he rotated in place.

Chimaru grunted as the air was knocked out of him from being slammed by a solid wall of chakra; at point blank, the Kaiten had enough power to blow him off of his feet and launch him well out of range of the two boys. Scraping and clawing at the ground, the chuunin came to a skidding stop, glaring at his young opponents with pure hatred and _pouring_ murderous intent.

"Now it's my turn!" Naruto cried as he formed three quick hand seals and grinned, "I have to thank Sasuke for inadvertently giving me the idea for this jutsu, but here it goes! Ninpou: Yureibunshin no jutsu!!" the blonde shouted as two transparent versions of himself burst into being, each with their hair blowing in a metaphysical breeze and their ethereal legs fading into nothing.

"Ghost clone…?" Chimaru scoffed as he watched the results of Naruto's jutsu. "All that build up and this is all you have to show for it?"

"Hey! Don't underestimate me, damn it! You haven't seen what these guys can do; they'll blow your socks off for sure!" the rowdy genin screamed indignantly at the injury to his pride. "I'll show you!" Naruto cried as he grabbed one of the clones by the arm and threw him like a javelin at the sneering Sand ninja before reaching out for the second clone.

With a practiced twitch, Chimaru flung a handful of shuriken at the incoming "genin missile"; the throwing stars pelted straight through the clone, which immediately evaporated into nothing. However, before the chuunin could laugh at the simplicity in which he dispatched the jutsu, he spotted several glittering shards of metal falling to the ground; the shuriken had been torn into pieces after passing through!

"Those clones release wind-chakra when destroyed…" Neji murmured as he watched the second ghost flying through the air towards the Sand ninja, who was just realizing the same thing. Unfortunately for the nukenin, the ghost clone was already too close and traveling too fast to dodge and they all knew it!

"You Konoha pieces of shiiii…!" Chimaru roared as the phantasmal genin breezed through him, seeming to dive into his chest. He grunted as red lines burst randomly from the point of impact; he staggered and fell to the ground with a crash. A crash that sounded like a window breaking…

"Ah! What happened!? I thought that I had him!" Naruto bellowed as he and Neji jogged up to what should have been the body of the chuunin, but instead found a smashed flower vase.

Neji frowned as he held his hand over the wound on his shoulder and stared at the pottery, "He used a Kawarimi no jutsu at the last instant; this guy is a very well-skilled ninja. Even after closing a large number of his tenketsu and hitting him point blank with my strongest Kaiten he had enough energy to figure out your attack and dodge it." Finally, the genius turned his eyes on Naruto, and after a moment he said, "Looks like we've used up almost all of our chakra. We need to get to Gai-sensei; we can't beat this man alone."

"No!" Naruto growled as he clenched his fists and glared, determined to prove himself despite his worn-out state. "He has to be worn out too… I've still got a lot of stamina left. I'm not afraid to die, so let me beat on him long enough for him to make a mistake; that's when you go in for the kill!"

"Naruto…" the Hyuuga scolded as he slowly shifted into a combat stance, every muscle tensed for battle. "They're still too far to make out any details, but I think I see someone heading towards us." he warned in a whisper. "It might be Gai and Tenten; maybe they've defeated the bandits already. But it could also be this man's teammates."

"What do we do, Neji? You're the leader, so I have to do what you say." Naruto muttered, though his tone betrayed his determination to finish the fight alone. He tightened his grip on his sai as Neji cleared his throat to answer…

- Konoha -

Kakashi's team seven came to a stop by a bench on the shore of the Nidaime Hokage Lake, where he gestured for his subordinates to take a seat. When they had, the jounin smiled under his mask as he reached into his pouch and flipped to the last page he'd read, "Don't feel like we're interrogating you, Takeshi-san, but I feel that it would help our teamwork on this mission if we knew a little something about each other."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" the ex-rock ninja inquired, his reserved voice betraying no emotion at all, though his eyes were filled with a hint of amusement. Kakashi made what Takeshi assumed to be an affirmative grunt, so he spoke his mind, "Sir, is it really a good idea to read that in front of these children? The little girl especially…"

"Hmm?" Kakashi murmured as he trained his visible eye towards the seated shinobi, "Oh, they never claimed that it was uncomfortable, so I assumed that it was alright."

"Well, I'm sorry but I find it to be highly inappropriate and completely inconsiderate of their feelings." Takeshi announced, his emotionless voice continuing to hide all traces of his own feelings, though his eyes had gone slightly cold. "You're supposed to be their teacher and role model, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't read adult material in their vicinity."

"I see." Kakashi said as he folded his book closed and pocketed it with a disciplined smile, "Now that you've set the limit, I'll do my best to honor it. Now, in return, please tell us a little about yourself." Kakashi spoke in a light voice that seemed to give off the message that it wasn't completely optional.

With all seven eyes on him, the teenaged jounin leaned his head back and gazed up into the sky, as if contemplating how much he should reveal about himself. Finally he returned to earth and smiled, "I love children and have become somewhat of a protector of youth. When on missions, I put my life on the line, knowing that my sacrifice will benefit the children of the village; shinobi and civilian alike."

"Quite acting like a martyr." Sasuke scoffed suddenly, glaring sideways at the teen seated beside him. "And stop telling us such useless information; what I need to know is how strong you are. What is your rank as a shinobi?"

Takeshi paused to stare at Sasuke, letting the Hokage's words play through his mind once more. '_Everyone in Konoha is family, huh? Then this must be my bratty little brother._' The defector put on his best, fake smile and answered, "I'm strong enough, little bro; I'm not a jounin for nothing you know."

"Little bro?" Sasuke challenged with a cold glare. '_This guy is nothing like Itachi…_'

"Uchiha Sasuke already has an older brother, Takeshi-san." Lee broke in as he looked up from his ninja novel. A stifling silence overcame the five shinobi as they were reminded about the tragedy that befell them only five years previous, until the wild-eyed Kakashi-look-a-like laughed and puffed out his chest, "I'm a year older than he is, so that makes _me_ the big brother! But if you like, you can be my big bro; we can train together or just hang out, like normal siblings do!"

Takeshi offered a small chuckle before reaching out and rubbing his hand through the boy's shiny black hair, "I'd like that. What's your name?"

"It's Rock Lee. I'm still a genin, but with Kakashi's help I'm going to prove to the world that you don't need ninjutsu or genjutsu to become a great ninja!" The excitable boy exclaimed in a determined voice.

"What about you, Haruno Sakura?" Kakashi asked in a low voice, eyeing the pink-haired girl with an air of boredom, "You didn't quite introduce yourself properly last time, so would you mind…?"

"Excuse me?" the little girl murmured, tearing her eyes off of Takeshi, "Oh! I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed with a light blush. Aware that everyone's focus had been moved from Lee to herself, Sakura cleared her throat and smiled, "My hobbies are sewing and cooking; I like fashionable clothes and pretty flowers, but I don't like losing to anyone!"

"What about your dream? Why did Sakura-chan become a kunoichi?" Kakashi wondered, curious as to why such a feminine little girl would seek such a bloody profession.

"Two reasons, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed with growing force, "First: my dad wanted me to be the first shinobi in my family, and second: I refuse to be beaten by Ino!"

"Oh." Kakashi said as he watched the girl with newfound interest and respect, "So it wasn't for Sasuke?" The boy in question raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak.

Her blush deepened, but Sakura refused to appear shy and weak, so she smiled and nodded, "I also want to be closer to Sasuke-kun, but I admit that I'm kind of a tomboy… I made that decision before I'd ever met Sasuke-kun."

Suddenly Takeshi chuckled and playfully elbowed Sasuke in the ribs, causing him to grunt and wince, "You've got to pay attention to the subtle hints, man. Invite me to the wedding, little brother." Like clockwork, all three of the children blushed.

- Several hours later -

The emotional children of Konoha all sighed in relief when they arrived at their destination at last: Sunagakure, a village hidden in the sand of the unforgiving Endless Desert. After gaining entry, the foreigners were treated to a breathtaking view of the organic, multilayered sandstone village. The only word that came to mind was…

"Gorgeous!" Ino whispered as she took in the artistic beauty of the desert town; the buildings themselves seemed to possess as many gentle curves as a well-endowed woman!

"Eh, it's home." Kankurou said boorishly as he gave a half-hearted shrug, "And speaking of home; I'm going to steal some sake from my old man. Wanna come, Gaara?"

"…I only drink juice, Kankurou-nii-san." The red-haired preteen mumbled as he left Asuma's side and drew up to his older brother. "Let's go." Gaara nodded and began to walk home, turning his back on the foreign visitors.

"Woah, woah! Wait, Kankurou!" Temari cried angrily as she grabbed her little brother by the front of his black shirt, "You're planning on leaving me with all of the responsibility of the Konoha ninjas!?" She shook him violently, but he didn't respond.

"Well!?" She growled, only to gape when her brother's face fell off, disintegrating into sand at her feet; he'd replaced with his puppet! "That damned brat…!" Temari fumed as she unceremoniously dropped Karasu, kicking the thing while it was down. "Fine, be that way! I'll just take all of the pay for myself." the blonde reasoned as she spun on her heel to politely return her attention to the Konoha shinobi, where Kiba was just elbowing Shino and whispering about the wonderful view they had of the kunoichi's bottom.

"We're not that much of a hassle, Temari-san." Asuma chuckled as he patted Ino on the shoulder; he'd been admiring the view of Sunagakure with her, "Ino and I will keep everyone under control, right? But we should make our delivery top priority; I'm sure your government would appreciate getting this information back."

"They can wait another hour," Temari murmured, "you guys aren't properly dressed for such a hot day in the desert. Come on, there's a clothing store on the way to the Kazekage's mansion. I'm sure my father would rather wait a little rather than having to explain to your village why you all died of exposure."

"Hey!" Kiba suddenly barked excitedly, "Akamaru says that there are girls nearby! I'm going to go see if they're cute!" And before anyone could react, he dashed off.

Kurenai sighed and pressed her hand to her face, "Ugh, he can't go running around in a foreign shinobi village; Hinata and I will find him and bring him back. You know my size, Asuma; find me something nice will you?" The jounin claimed that he would and nodded when the two women took off after Kiba.

"Can this day get any worse?" Temari whined as she melodramatically hung her head in shame, "What's next? Will the shop be closed or something?"

Before anyone could answer, a giggling voice filled the area, "Ohh! Foreigners!" and what had to be the three cutest ten-year-old children anyone had ever seen trotted up and stared in awe at the genin of Konoha.

"Hey!" Temari barked, "What are you three doing skipping class? Get back to the academy right this…"

"Their hitai-ate are different than ours will be, look!" the little girl exclaimed upon noticing the forehead protector dangling loosely from Ino's neck. "I wonder how it'll look on me!" The academy student yanked at Ino's apparel and held the cloth to her forehead.

"That's mine you little brat!" Ino growled, grabbing for her hitai-ate, but the girl was too fast for her; with a small giggle she ordered her friends to follow her as she took off at a run. "Oh, no you don't!" she bellowed as she yanked free of Asuma's grip and tore off after the tittering academy students.

"Why me…?" Temari moaned with her face in her hands, "My dad's going to kill me for sure…"

After doling out a few lazy orders, Asuma strode up to Temari and gently patted her shoulder, startling the teenager, "Don't worry, Temari-san! Shino and Shikamaru are actually very good at tracking; they'll find Ino and have her back in no time. We should go ahead and visit that clothing store. As you can see, Chouji's a little larger than most children, so we should get something better on him before he becomes a baked potato."

"…right. It's this way…" the drained blonde murmured hollowly, reminded that her father had designated this mission as a "B-rank" due to the political consequences. Would this spark an international conflict? Could Suna afford something like that? "Why me…?" was the only thing that came to mind, as the teen began towards the desert-wear shop with the only two Konoha visitors she'd managed to hold onto.

- Preview -

The meeting with the Kazekage holds more in store for the visiting jounin than anticipated; will they agree to a Konoha-Suna alliance? Plus, team Kakashi starts out towards the country of Waves, escorting a man who secretly has a price on his head!


	14. A Troubled Fangirl

A/N: I've been kind of busy the past 3 months, so I apologize for the lag in updates and not responding to reviews. I've been working very hard to get into college and finally finish up my education; get the job of my dreams and whatnot. I'm not sure when I'll get in, but I expect it to be sometime during October, so I have no idea when I'll be able to put up the next chapter. Even though I haven't started on it yet, I know exactly what's going to happen, so it shouldn't take too long, internet willing.

But more recently, I lost internet all last month! For a while I thought that it was the ISP, but came to find that my router had died on me, so I had to find a temporary solution until I fix the problem.

In this chapter I use a new term for money, "zeni", which some readers might remember from such popular RPGs such as Final Fantasy and the like. Here I'm using it as the word for money from the Wind country, which uses different currency from Fire, which is yen. I'd like to thank all my reviewers for giving such wonderful reviews!

**Chapter 14: The Troubled Fan-girl**

- Sunagakure -

The day had dawned clear and warm over the artistically beautiful village of Sand. Children ran happy little circles around their loving parents as stores opened left and right, greeting the day as if it were just like any other. However, a calm air of tranquility carefully masked the shameful truths hidden from all outsiders; the fact that the village was quickly dying.

In one such store, an outlet devoted to providing the very best in protective robes, turbans and sunshades, the daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage gave a hassled sigh. By some miracle, all of the Konoha shinobi had been rounded up and brought to the clothing store; however, they didn't have any zeni whatsoever, and Temari unfortunately came up short.

"I don't get paid until after completing this mission! Can't you just put it on my tab so I can pay for them later?" the blonde complained angrily as she slammed her hand on the counter, startling the cashier.

"W-we don't have a lay-away system here, miss." The woman stammered before glancing towards the foreigners and whispering, "Not with the state of affairs in Suna and all…"

"My father is the Kazekage! Make an exception!" Temari growled, leaning threateningly close to the frightened employee. "These guys are here on a political diplomatic mission," the genin lied cunningly, "How bad do you think it'll get if they go home and tell their village about how sloppily we treated them? And you know it'll all be _your_ fault!"

As Temari continued to argue with the cashier, Ino shook her head and sighed in exasperation, "They're not even that fashionable… We should be getting a discount for them! Right, Hinata?" the preteen murmured as she held up a simple, blue robe in her size.

"Um… I don't know… If Ino-san thinks so, then I guess…" the timid Hyuuga whispered softly, not taking her white eyes off of the ground as she poked the tips of her index fingers together.

"Hey? Do you think that girls in Suna dig boys wearing these things?" Kiba asked Shino as he placed his hands on his hips and struck a manly pose in his own brown robe, "It feels like a dress to me; I hope I don't get hit on by guys."

Ino grinned smugly as she glanced towards Kiba and said, "I doubt any of them would be able to take their eyes off of me long enough to notice a dog-boy, anyway."

"Now, now, kids…" Asuma scolded kindly, "The sun in the desert is three times as harmful as in Konoha; you need appropriate cover. Besides, just think of these outfits as souvenirs of your first visit to Sunagakure."

Suddenly Temari gasped and took a cautious step back, confusing the cashier, who turned and paled in fright at the sight of a powerfully built man standing behind her. A dangerous looking Suna ANBU had appeared, dressed in a slate grey uniform with polished metal armguards and an odachi strapped to his back. "Temari-san, I have personally been requisitioned to deliver your pay for the completed mission. Your siblings have already been paid." He announced as he gently laid a thick stack of Wind country money on the counter. With his task complete, the ANBU exploded into sand.

"It's about time something went my way, damn it." The angry blonde scoffed as she ran a hand through her hair and sighed in relief. "This should be enough for the clothes. Now, let's go and see my father now; I'm sure he'd like to get that scroll back as soon as possible."

"Oy! We're not leaving so soon, are we?" Kiba growled testily, "I haven't gotten to see any cute girls yet; Kurenai-sensei stopped me before I could find any."

"For once I agree with dog-boy…" Ino admitted, giggling teasingly when Kiba growled at her, "I want to see some of the local boys, so we should stay in Suna for a couple days."

Shino shook his head in embarrassment, ashamed at how his companions were acting on such an important mission. "We should do what we came to do and avoid imposing on a foreign shinobi village. We're still on duty."

Chouji frowned and paused with his hand just over the opening of his bag of chips, "Didn't we just walk four hours through the burning hot desert? If we go out again without resting I'll burn up and die for sure! Besides, I want to try out all of the local foods!"

"You're too concerned with food, Chouji." Asuma scolded with a chuckle before sharing a sly look with Kurenai. "But I think it might be a good idea to accept Suna's hospitality for a little while longer. Let's get this mission done first, though."

- Kazekage's mansion -

Much as he had expected, only Shino and Temari would be accompanying Asuma to see the Wind Shadow, leaving Kurenai behind to keep an eye on the more pubescent and lazy genin. As soon as they entered and crossed to the middle of the floor, the blonde teen sank to her knees and prostrated herself before the village leader. As usual, the Kazekage was seated behind a semi-translucent cloth veil and flanked by two ANBU captains.

She addressed the man, "The representatives of the land of Fire have come to deliver the stolen scroll, Kazekage-sama. Sorry for the delay."

Temari expected a grunt of disapproval from her father, but instead the man answered dismissively, "You know that when such sensitive information is involved its return is far more important that the exact time it is brought back. I taught you better than that, girl."

"Baki-sensei?" Temari breathed in shock. Her teacher seemed to have become the village leader, but that didn't explain what had happened to her father and why she hadn't been told about it. "What the hell happened to my father?" she growled and narrowed her eyes at her teacher, angered and confused by the reeling change of events.

"I'll explain it to you later, Temari. Go find your brothers; I'll call for you when I'm ready." the Godaime commanded, watching the genin with his only visible eye.

Asuma grinned and took a small step forward, stopping in his tracks when he spotted the tiniest flinch from one of the ANBU captains, "On behalf of Konohagakure and all of the land of Fire, I'd like to apologize for coming into possession of this information." He chuckled to cover his momentary foul-up of attempting to approach the Kazekage without permission, "I can only imagine how the defector thought that stealing something like this would smooth his entry into our military."

"His ploy may have worked if it had been any other nation." The Kazekage replied. Giving a slow nod he ordered one of his guards to accept the scroll. As the veil was pushed aside so that the elite ninja could accept the scroll, Baki continued to say, "How fortunate for us that Konoha has as much integrity as it does. And it's because of this that I have an offer to make to Konoha's ambassador."

- Cave near Shien no Sato -

Tenten groaned in exhaustion as she dropped to the ground and leaned back against a stalagmite. After meticulously searching the cavern, Neji had thankfully called a rest to recuperate and discuss everything they'd learned that day. "Other than discovering that I'm no good at interrogations…" Tenten murmured dryly, "I found that the bandits had nothing to do with the kidnappings."

"How can you be so sure?" Kaori demanded, looking up from smiling at Gai, "Did they say anything before we arrived?"

Tenten cleared her throat before beginning her quote, "_What a bad situation we're in, guys… We'll probably be killed in a Konoha prison for the things we've done, our crimes as well as those _attributed_ to us_." The teen shook her head and sighed, "Attributed, such as kidnapping every member of this village. They were blackmailed, and possibly by the person Kaori-san is looking for."

"It's possible. However, I'd like to know if Chimaru revealed anything during his fight." The ANBU mentioned as she returned her attention to her paramour, Gai.

"No, nothing he said was useful." Neji replied with a shake of his head, though he didn't take his eyes off of a darkened corner of the cave. Water was dripping from the ceiling, making a steady plip plip sound. Could something so mundane have anything to do with this case? The Hyuuga was getting so desperate to solve this case that he wasn't willing to rule anything out; his honor as a genius was at stake.

It was at then that Naruto screamed and frantically dashed back to his team, mysteriously zipping up his pants as he came to a stop, "You guys! I just figured out how to find everyone!" A wave of energy exploded through the entire group, fueling Naruto on, "Listen, I went into the corner to take a piss…"

"Naruto!" Gai barked, suddenly appeared behind the crude blonde and catching his shoulder in his hand, squeezing just hard enough to remind Naruto who the teacher was, "You must show manners when in the presence of women!"

"That's very sweet of you, "Paramour", and I appreciate the thought," Kaori cooed as she strode up to Gai and gently caressed his cheek, smiling infatuatedly at the jounin, "but I'm a full grown woman; I can handle dirty language."

Tenten turned to Neji and whispered in a slightly put out and hurt voice, "Gai-sensei's never defended me when Naruto was crude." Neji didn't say two words, he merely stared back at her as if to say 'Obviously it's because our sensei is in love with her, not you.' Tenten got the hint and shrugged dejectedly.

"Anyway!" Naruto cut in, pulling away from the couple and pointing at Neji, "I was worried that someone would catch me, so I hid in the corner of the cave and did my business." Before anyone could remind him that caves didn't have corners, the boy pressed on, "I knew that no one would be able to see it, but suddenly remembered the Byakugan could see through walls; Neji might find it!"

"_Use my Byakugan to find his piss? I don't know if I'd want to_…" Neji whispered back to Tenten, though the joke didn't seem to be very funny in light of the dangerous mission, or the hope that Naruto did in fact find a solution.

"Byakugan can find anything! If we use that guy's forehead protector, maybe Neji will be able to see if there are any other guys that wear it the same way. Find them and we find the villagers!" The future Hokage exclaimed in a powerful and assured voice, confident that he had just up and solved the entire mission.

"…" Neji stared at his teammate with an unreadable expression. No one spoke; they all turned and stared at the genius, waiting to see what he'd say. Finally he sighed and shook his head, "That man's hitai-ate is a normal headband; if anything I'd only find the ANBU that came with Kaori-san. Besides, unless they've been buried alive, all I'll find down here is dirt and rocks." '_And Naruto's urine, too… but I'd rather not think about that._' "It's a waste of time."

Before Naruto could demand that he try it anyway, Gai raised his hand and frowned, "I'm sorry, Naruto; but this is for your own good." Swiftly he brought his hand down on his student's neck, causing the boy to cry out and crumble to the floor, holding a hand to his injured muscle. "I have to hit you when you have bad idea, or you'll never be free of them!"

Naruto didn't respond immediately, he simply glared up at Neji. "Was my idea stupid when I suggested that we henge into each other and trick that guy? Or what about when I figured out to mix your moves together?" The Hyuuga raised both of his eyebrows in surprise; not shocked at Naruto's persistence, this was normal, but that he had an undeniable point.

Neji was beaten to speak by Gai's sweetie, "It sounds to me," Kaori said as she approached Naruto and offered her hand to help him to rise, "like this little boy has had several good ideas. Maybe we should listen to him before passing judgment."

If he was willing to investigate a drip, scanning for Suna headbands wouldn't be too much to ask for. So Neji formed a hand seal to boost the power of his eyesight, "I've never tried to penetrate a cave wall, but I'll do my best. Byakugan!" To test his ability at seeing through the wall of a cave, Neji first peered at the dripping water. With a grunt he forced his bloodline to penetrate the stalactite, and saw the very, very faint blur of an underground lake. He began to concentrate harder, and after several tense seconds, the lake came into focus; but there was nothing special about it. Suddenly he spotted something, "Hmm…"

"What do you see?" Naruto demanded after releasing Kaori's hand, having accepted her help to stand despite not needing it. He strode right up to Neji, staring eagerly into his partner's eyes.

Neji squinted in an effort to see into the distance through Naruto's head, the cave and the ground. "Kaori's teammates are investigating a camp of thieves, but their effort will be wasted because there aren't any prisoners at all."

"But what about the Suna hitai-ate?" Tenten reminded helpfully, gazing hopefully towards Neji.

Neji had enough sense to look at Tenten while she spoke to prevent Gai from yelling at him. However, he was still using his Byakugan at its highest level, so he saw right through her head as well; through her head and right into the wall behind her. Without saying a word, the Hyuuga strode up to Tenten and grabbed her by the shoulders, causing her to stare at him curiously. He gently moved her aside, ignoring the small note of confusion that she made. "I see something strange."

"What is it? Lead the way already!" Naruto cried excitedly, his flaring chakra only visible to Neji.

"I'll show you." Neji stated as he slowly, calmly, walked to the wall of the dark cave and stopped to glare at the stone. "This is a simple concealing jutsu; a grey sheet of cloth as been fastened to the wall here, covering chakra that's been infused into the wall."

"Stand back! Disarming an enemy's trap is a task for a jounin." Gai called as he jabbed his chest with his thumb, having followed the party after Neji. "I will not let my precious student get hurt when I can avoid it." He didn't see Kaori's infatuated smile.

The genin all stood back with Kaori, whom had been asked to safeguard them in case something happened. drip, drip The water splashed into a puddle as Gai slowly scuffed the corner of the sheet and held his breath; all of their hearts were beating loudly in their ears as the jounin took a steady breath and ripped the cloth from the wall!

Rather than a trap, the investigators were treated to a symbol painted on the face of the rock in what had to be dried blood. Hesitantly, Kaori approached the painting and gently ran her fingers along the red substance; she knew what it was and what the symbol meant. "It's the Wolf Spider seal and is usually drawn in red clay. But more importantly, it's the unique jutsu of the person I'm hunting."

In a hushed voice, the young kunoichi of team Gai whispered, "Who _are_ you searching for?" Tenten wondered, eyeing the seal with apprehension. It looked very complex; and complex meant dangerous.

Kaori blinked as she turned away from the seal and looked Gai in the eyes, "This is Daiya's seal, so it'll only open on her command. And I'm afraid that revealing it instantly alerts her that it's been disturbed; she knows that we're here."

Their blood all ran cold, but once again, it was the girl who spoke. "What do we do!?" Tenten gasped in fright, "We can't fight someone on her level! She's the Right Hand of The Wind; the Kazekage's equal! We have to flee!"

"Those are my orders as well." Kaori admitted as she backed away from the seal, "I have to get word to…"

"No!" Naruto barked suddenly, approaching the clay seal, "Even though you hit me when I was right; even though she's as strong as she is; I don't care about all of that. We should take the fight to her before she has a chance to prepare. Let's go kick her ass!"

"Please, no! Naruto!" Tenten pleaded as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her friend, "We could all really die if we get in over our heads! We need to run when something like this happens! Didn't Mizuki teach you that?"

Finally Gai took a deep breath and glanced towards Kaori, "You have your own orders to follow, so do as you must. As for us, Neji is the one running the show; we'll listen to his orders."

Neji carefully regarded the situation, glancing from the seal to Kaori. "The seal has already been revealed, so Daiya is already aware of our presence; if we try to flee, she'll just catch up to us and kill us anyway. That would be an inefficient waste."

"So? Does that mean…?" Naruto began, gripping his sai tightly in his hands as he mentally prepared himself for battle. "We're going to distract her so that Kaori can get away?"

"Not all of us," Neji replied, "We need Gai here because he's a jounin; we'd be annihilated in seconds without him. Naruto is too stubborn to leave now; that and his special jutsu may come in handy. My Byakugan and Gentle Fist style will ensure that we stay alive as long as possible; not to mention my mind is best suited for coming up with plans at a seconds notice."

"So I'm going with Kaori-san, then?" Tenten figured quickly. Though clearly not on Neji's level, she was a smart girl, after all. "Is it because of my fighting style?"

Neji nodded, "It's also possible that Daiya has alerted someone on the outside, so Kaori could become a target; it'd be up to you to get word out and send help. Now get going before it's too late!"

However, Kaori couldn't leave without doing something first. She reached out and pulled Gai into a firm embrace, kissing him deeply on the mouth. When she broke the kiss, she whispered in a choked voice, "I love you." before pulling out of his arms and gesturing for Tenten to follow her. She didn't like the thought of leaving him behind to become a sacrifice, but as a ninja she knew that her feelings meant nothing when compared to the mission.

When the girls had gone, Neji murmured as he reached out and caressed the strange seal, "Now we have to find a way in. I can see a hollow corridor two feet behind this stone slab; it's my guess that Daiya's jutsu forces the rock out of the way to allow her passage."

"Can you fool the seal into thinking that you're Daiya?" Naruto wondered, "Or do we have to break our way in?"

"No!" Neji hissed as he gently ran his fingers along the wall beside the seal. "The chakra radiating from the jutsu isn't strengthening the stone, but dramatically weakening it. Breaking any part of this wall would cause a chain reaction that'd bring the entire cave down on us."

Gai sighed and shook his head, "We'll need to find a way around it that doesn't involve breaking anything. Can you see where the corridor goes? Maybe we can find a different entrance; like an escape route or something."

"I haven't trained to be able to see through the ground; I never assumed that I'd need to. An oversight, I know; but I'll try my best."

"Wait." Naruto interrupted, squinting at the rock that the clay was drawn on, "How thick did you say this was?"

"Approximately 23 inches… But any sort of concussion or detonation would kill us for sure!"

"Maybe, but what if we cut it? We could take out a small chunk and sneak in that way. My Wind Sai jutsu can get through this, I'm sure of it; you just have to guide me so that I don't hit any of the super weak areas."

"That could work! Prepare the jutsu while I map out the weakened areas." Neji commanded as he turned back towards the wall to do as he claimed. Gai smiled to himself as Naruto and Neji went to work on their plan, deeply satisfied that his students were working together so amazingly well. It was just a shame that there was so little chance that they'd survive…

- Sunagakure -

Upon exiting the Kazekage's mansion, Asuma and Shino found the female Konoha jounin waiting for them in the shade of a government office, and with a nod, the two men strode up to the red-eyed brunette. After lowering his voice, Asuma murmured, "Where are the kids?"

Kurenai grinned when she saw her companions and ran a hand through her hair, "I locked them in their rooms." Kurenai giggled when they stopped to stare at her in surprise; she capitalized on this moment of hesitation by leaping forward and seizing Asuma's right arm, flirtatiously holding it to her chest. "But they're shinobi; I'm positive that they'll eventually find their way out. They want to see Suna too, you know."

In a dry and emotionless voice, Shino glanced towards his sensei from under his sunglasses and asked, "Are we off duty now?"

"We're done for today, yes. I guess you also want to explore Sunagakure?" Asuma replied in an even voice, hoping to cover his embarrassment at being grabbed by the woman and having his limb pressed to her breasts.

"I'm curious about what kinds of insects can be found here. I'll leave you two to your business; you obviously have important things to discuss." The boy muttered in a deep voice, understanding that Asuma would need to tell his sensei about the things that the Kazekage had said. "I've put a kikaichu on the both of you, so I'll be sure to return just before curfew."

When the boy left, Kurenai smiled and patted Asuma on the arm that was still pinned to her chest, "Well, if we're done for the day why don't we just relax and find a nice restaurant to rest in?" Kurenai suggested in a flirty voice, watching her companion from the corner of her crimson eye. "You can tell me what you need to when we're somewhere a little more _private_."

"To tell the truth, Kurenai-san," Asuma murmured softly, "we're not done just yet. Sure, the children's C-rank mission is complete, but we jounin have an S-rank do deal with now." The kunoichi instantly pulled away from Asuma to give him her full attention. Now free of her clutches, Asuma was able to place a cigarette into his mouth and light it, the man sighed and looked his partner in the eyes, "It's time to put your military training to good use, because the fate of our international relationship with Suna hangs in the balance. We've been offered an alliance between Sunagakure and Konohagakure."

"Something like that is on _our_ shoulders?" Kurenai breathed in shock, her crimson eyes widening slightly in realization of the massive scope of the political mission. The two of them would have to put their experience to the test and decide if the benefits would outweigh the danger of such coexistence. "You can't mean… But a decision like that would be something for the Hokage to make, not us! Mere jounin shouldn't even _begin_ to consider making such an involved decision!"

"Please calm down, Kurenai-san. Not only will overreacting needlessly complicate matters, but it detracts from your beauty." Asuma replied with a disarming smile, managing to calm his partner enough so that he could continue, "No one said that the final decision was up to us. Our job is to consult with the council of Sunagakure and agree on terms, only then will it be brought to the Hokage's attention for his approval." Asuma sighed and expelled a cloud of smoke, carefully watching Kurenai's reaction; already he could see the relief on her face. On a certain level he understood her worry; if it turned out to be a front for an attack, he didn't want it to be his fault. As childish as that sounded, it was how they both felt at the time.

"I see. So, when do we meet with them, then? And what should we do about our subordinates?" the woman asked, suddenly aware of how recently she had been promoted to jounin.

"Well, seeing as I'm the man in charge, I've been asked to choose the time; so it's in four hours. In the meantime, we should gather the kids and take Temari-san up on her offer to show us the village." Asuma then took his cigarette and pinched the end to put it out, and as he stuffed it back into the pack, "We're Konoha's ambassadors now; our village's reputation is at stake, so we'll have to make sure the kids stay out of trouble."

Kurenai smiled and gently shock her head, "Most of them know how to behave themselves; it's Yamanaka Ino that we have to worry about."

Asuma couldn't help but chuckle and winked at the woman, "Yeah, she and her accomplice Inuzuka Kiba will be quite a handful. If you ask me…" he insinuated but at that very moment something rocketed by in front him, causing the jounin to go wide-eyed.

Kiba was whooping, howling and taunting the two grey blurs that were hot on his trail, "Run Akamaru! If this is all that Suna can throw at us… Haha!" he laughed as the ANBU tore off after him, unsure how they should deal with the situation. On any other day they would have cut him down in an instant, but today the Kazekage had warned the local jounin against upsetting any foreign parties in Suna.

"Oh no…" Kurenai groaned as Kiba leapt up onto someone's shoulders and used them as a spring board to get on top of a roof. "Go find the others while I deal with this. And see if you can't find a strong rope… Or at least a leash…"

- Shien no Sato -

With a grunt, Gai eased the block of rock out of the wall just to the south-east of the Wolf Spider seal. As he set the block aside, Neji ducked and looked through the hole, murmuring into the darkness about a slant.

Finally the young genin glanced towards his teammates with a strange look on his face, "Fate has given me the advantage of a high IQ and special eyes, but has turned her back on us today."

"Again with the 'fate' crap? What the hell does that mean, Neji?" Naruto grumbled crossly. Neji had to forgive him, because this would be the second time today he'd been asked to wrestle with his mortality. He didn't have the same mind as Neji had.

"It's been bugging me since we chased that chuunin into the market square; the most efficient number for a ninja squad is three, so where were the other members of his team?" Neji asked, though he was obviously about to give the answer.

"They're down in the hole, right?" Naruto guessed stoically, his blue eyes hard and ready for battle.

"Only one of them is down there; the jounin with the title of Right Hand of the Wind. I don't see the man that she was willing to trade Suna's scroll for… I'm still too new to looking through the ground. He could be flanking us, or he could be after Tenten."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror; sure, he wasn't afraid to die, but the thought of Tenten getting hurt twisted his stomach into knots. He would not let his best friend get killed!

"Shit!" Neji swore under his breath as he backed away from the hole, "Daiya is walking up the ramp towards us! If you're going to abandon us and chase after Tenten, now is the time, Naruto."

After taking a deep breath and untying the knot in his own stomach, Gai cleared his throat and clapped Naruto on the shoulder, "I'm sure even Neji will agree that this is a jounin fight and is not meant for genin. I want both of you to go protect your teammate while I attend to this. That is an order." He commanded in a powerful voice of authority.

"That's a waste of my abilities, Gai." Neji accused softly, keeping his feet rooted to the ground and his Byakugan trained on the deadly woman steadily approaching them from the darkness. "Fate has given me…"

"I guess I can't force you to leave, Hyuuga. I just hope you realize that it's the stronger ninja that protects his friends because of what they mean to him than the one eager to prove his own power through battling impossible enemies. As for you Naruto, you can't let your bonds break, can you?" Gai asked, displaying a level of insight unheard of from an exaggerated and childish man with a bowl-cut.

"Over my dead body!" the blonde swore as he spun on his heel and crouched to sprint, a look of complete determination in his eyes. "I know you can handle her, Gai-sensei, so I won't wish you good luck. I'm going to help Tenten!"

"Wait for me, Naruto." Neji murmured in a tone that clearly said that he didn't truly want to leave. He wanted to put his fate-given skills to good use, but that was evidently out of the question. The white-eyed genin took the most important first step; after the first, the second came easier. Before long the two boys were dashing from the cave, leaving their sensei behind to challenge a woman on the same level as the Kazekage of Sunagakure.

With bated breath, Maito Gai shifted into a stiff fighting pose in preparation for the upcoming battle. The two best taijutsu fighters of their nations were to clash under the earth in a confrontation of epic proportions and there was nobody to watch. His heart beat in anticipation as the seal began to glow visibly on the face of the stone before the slab sank into the ground, revealing the silhouette of a powerful foreign kunoichi.

"Oh? Alone are we?" Daiya crooned as she strode into the dim chamber of the cavern. "Or perhaps we're not… Come on out, little ones." She called, pausing long enough for Gai to chuckle.

"Your bluff is worthless, woman! I'm your opponent, the Noble Green Beast of Konohagakure, Maito Gai!" The jounin exclaimed as he jabbed his chest with his thumb and crouched a little lower, a sign of tightening his defense. Honed from years of training that would normally kill a man, Gai could strike like a snake and hit as hard as a bull.

"Yes. We've met before, Mr. Gai; but this was before you had that title. You probably don't remember, as you left me for dead that day when you caught me sneaking into that temple to the Will of Fire." Daiya said with a grin, hardly moving a muscle lest she provoke Gai into attacking.

"We've met before?" Gai murmured in confusion, watching as the woman slowly reached up and gently hooked her fingers into the collar of her brown trench coat.

"Never mind." Daiya murmured stiffly as she unfastened the first button. "If you'd wait a moment… I don't fight in my coat. There are too many important things in the pockets, you see."

Gai tensed, "All the more reason to dodge my attack. If you have something to protect, you'll always evade the strike." He murmured, repeating something that his sensei had told him when he was a young man.

Daiya paused on the third of many buttons, fixing her chocolate eyes on Gai's intense gaze. "Hmm, I suppose you have a point, Mr. Gai… Nonetheless, I appreciate your patience. Though, of course, there's no real point for us to be fighting, is there?"

"That would depend." Gai replied guardedly, gulping as Daiya pulled her coat open, revealing a tight, toned body perfectly fit for a fighter. It didn't help that all she wore under it were cloth wrappings around her breasts and tight-fitting leather shorts. "Do you have anything to do with the disappearances in the village of Tobacco Smoke?"

"What? Oh, yes; Mr. Gatou hired us out to train these farmers in the art of ninjutsu." Daiya replied with a tone of amusement in her sultry voice. It was as if she were back in the forest speaking with a teenaged jounin that had just caught her mid-infiltration. Slowly she began to fold her trench coat and knelt to the floor, keeping her keen eyes on Gai as she set her clothing to one side.

Before Gai could respond, his arm jerked up and caught Daiya's foot; the power behind the kick forced him back a couple steps, where he caught his balance and returned to his stance. "I've heard about you as well, Miss Daiya: Right Hand of the Wind." The nukenin paused, waiting for her opponent to continue his train of thought. Gai didn't make her wait long, "They say that your bones are as hard as diamonds and that you can cut through swords with your bare hands."

"Now who are 'they', then?" Daiya laughed as she pulled into what had to be her fighting pose. "Is it from Konoha's bingo book? Nonetheless, it's absolutely true!" Daiya called as she vanished and appeared over Gai with her leg arching down on him.

Gai grunted as he reached up to block the attack with his forearms. He gasped as the dark-skinned woman brought her leg straight down through him, easily slicing him in half! Suddenly Gai exploded, leaving behind a rock that had been cleaved into two pieces; he'd used a Kawarimi no jutsu.

Appearing on top of a stalagmite, the Noble Green Beast frowned as he looked down at his opponent, "You're wrong, Miss Daiya. I heard the rumors when the Hokage and the Kazekage were comparing me to you during the last chuunin exam. They say that if I were a woman, I'd be you."

"What a disturbing concept, Mr. Gai." Daiya chuckled before launching forward to punch and shatter Gai's perch. However, before she could hit, the green jounin erupted into black lines and slammed his leg into her shoulder.

"Dynamic Entry!" Gai exclaimed as he kicked off of her shoulder and back flipped off of Daiya, throwing her to the ground. After landing, Gai only had an instant before having to jump her retaliatory sweep, but even this left him vulnerable to someone as skilled as Daiya; with lightning speed, the nukenin threw out her hand and assailed Gai with a powerful blast of chakra converted into wind.

With a grunt, the mighty Green beast covered his eyes to keep them from drying out in the wind, momentarily blinding him; Daiya rocketed forward and kicked him in the stomach with all of her might. Her shinobi sandals made a faint click as they left the rocky floor of the cave a second time.

Going by this one hint, Gai was able to guess what she was trying to do, and with a twitch caught her by the forearm, stopping the tip of her middle finger less than an inch from his naked forehead. "You're as strong as I'd hoped. That's good… I'm feeling young again from such a great fight!" Gai laughed, though he came to an abrupt stop when loose hairs drifted into his vision, cut from his bangs by Daiya's hand.

"I don't want to kill you, Mr. Gai, and I'd prefer it if you didn't kill me either. Not over a misunderstanding such as this." Daiya mentioned as she slowly lowered her arm and adjusted the turban which bore a flipped Suna hitai-ate. "If we continue on any longer, one of us will certainly die within the next three minutes."

Gai released her arm and jumped back, too used to the subtle tactics. With a glare he looked his hands over; there were two red lines cut into each palm where he had gripped Daiya. "What are you talking about? What is the misunderstanding?"

A small smirk formed on Daiya's lips as she gingerly strafed around, matching Gai's movements exactly, effectively keeping him in front of her, "What do you know about Shiengakure?"

"Shien-what?" Gai murmured, not confused by the term, but taken off guard by how it was used. It insinuated that the village of Tobacco Smoke was a hidden ninja town. Suddenly Daiya shot forward, swinging her hand down on Gai as if using a karate chop, of which the Noble Green beast blocked with a kunai. They flickered and collided three more times, each strike parried as before, until with a stunning display of precognition, Gai created an opening by gracefully dodging her and slamming Daiya with a perfectly executed Konoha Whirlwind right to the woman's face.

Daiya skidded to a stop several feet away, pressing her hand to her bloodied lip, fixing her opponent with a calculating glare. '_If it keeps up like this, I won't be able to win without opening the gates. But even then…_' "Konoha is more like Suna that I thought, Mr. Gai." Instead of replying, Gai returned to his ready stance, keeping his keen eyes on the woman's dim form; their eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness of the cave. Daiya chuckled softly as she wiped her bottom lip, "We jounin don't ever hear about the missions that the council turns down, do we? All we do is handle the tougher ones that get through. Is that right?"

Gai glanced down at the stub that was left of his kunai, having been sliced to bits by the Right Hand of the Wind's right hand. Finally he looked up, only to find that she had vanished while he was distracted! '_Oh no_!' he gasped, throwing himself back just as a pillar of stone fell from the ceiling of the cave, smashing to the ground where he had been moments before. With his heart beating in his ears, Gai called out into the dark, empty cavern, "You seem to know a lot about how Konohagakure is run…"

From the obscuring darkness, Daiya drew up behind Gai and placed the tips of her fingers to the base of his spine and chuckled, "Just guessing is all. Otherwise you wouldn't be asking these questions, would you, sweetie?"

Gai didn't move a muscle other than turning his head to look back at the half naked woman breathing down his neck. His heart beat harder in his chest as he molded more chakra. Something clicked in his mind as he watched the woman grinning behind him for any signs of tension, knowing that would be the sign of her thrusting her arm forward, '_Daiya must have a reason for bringing up rejected missions. Not to mention that the villagers hired nukenin rather than going to Konoha…_' Daiya's arm tensed!

The Right Hand of the Wind raised an eyebrow as her opponent grunted and jumped away. She had already expected him to get away, though she was surprised that he had jumped away in two different directions. "A kage bunshin? Should I be honored to have forced the Taijutsu-specialized Noble Green Beast to use ninjutsu?"

"I'll only use ninjutsu to either protect those which are precious to me or when I find an opponent worthy of the full power of my youth." Gai admitted as he and his clone gingerly shifted into a defensive stance, prepared for anything his terrifying opponent might try. "But more importantly, Miss Daiya; tell me more about this Shiengakure that you mentioned…"

- Suna -

Sarutobi Asuma had been given tips by his father mere days before he had ever personally met team ten, "Despite your gut feeling, sometimes the best course is to do nothing and let your students figure the situation out alone. This way they'll be better equipped to deal with life as a shinobi after they're done with you." The Hokage had used this philosophy to raise first the three Legendary Ninjas of Konoha. However, Asuma had a different way of dealing with students, ways that wouldn't cause a war with a desperate foreign nation.

One of the ANBU chasing after Kiba looked over as Asuma breezed past him, quickly catching up to the errant genin and coming up beside the boy. The elite ninja's heart skipped a beat as the unidentified man threw himself to the side and checked Kiba off of the roof, watching as he fell into the sandy road and landed with a thump and a growl.

"What the hell, man?" Kiba growled as he struggled to get up. The ANBU landed one at a time around them, each glaring down at the troublemaker.

Asuma shook his head as he stood on the corner of Kiba's jacket, pinning him to the ground, "That's called tough love, Inuzuka. But you should know all about that; your family practices it as well."

"Are you this boy's captain?" the ANBU leader demanded coldly, hating his sudden lack of power.

"More or less, yeah." Asuma answered calmly. "I almost don't want to know, but what did he do to warrant you chasing him, captain?" Kiba grinned up at the collection of shinobi.

"We spotted him sneaking a peek into the girl's bath on our regular patrol. Nonconsensual voyeurism is a finable offence in Sunagakure, and I'll not have it from _anyone_ within our gates, foreigner or not."

Asuma sighed and rolled his lazy eyes at the situation. "Maybe you could forgive him this one time? He's just a pubescent child after all." The jounin stepped back, allowing Kiba to stand up and smirk as he brushed the sand off of his jacket. "Besides," Asuma continued, "we're here on a diplomatic mission and I'm sure the Kazekage wouldn't appreciate anything happening to visitors to your village."

Not one to be put in his place by a foreigner, especially by a jounin from Konoha, the ANBU captain puffed out his chest and spoke in a forceful voice, "The fine is 10,000 zeni. I'll add the charge to your expenses to be paid before you leave Sunagakure."

"What's that, Akamaru?" Kiba perked up, glancing towards his puppy. "You smell more girls? Lead the way!" he commanded, and while Asuma was distracted by the ANBU he took off at a run after the barking dog. As he rounded the corner, he had enough time to spot a familiar blonde kunoichi dressed in a white slip with a red sash; however, he wasn't used to running on sand, so he was unable to dodge her. He skidded and ran face first into her chest, bouncing off of her soft bosom and stomach with enough force to floor them both.

"Hey! Watch it, brat!" Temari roared as she flipped back to her feet and reached over her shoulder. "Look where you're going!"

"Shut up!" Kiba barked in return, placing a hand in the sand next to him for leverage to rise. "It's what you get for putting your village in the sandy desert! Right, Akamaru?" The dog-user cried, unaware of the frightening situation he was in. Temari was far from being a delicate desert flower.

"You shut up." the blonde female ninja commanded coldly as she drew her Iron-fan and crushed the end into Kiba's stomach, forcing him back to the ground. Akamaru began barking like mad, but no matter how loud the dog barked or how colorfully Kiba swore at her, Temari ignored them completely, continuing to grind the hard casing into the genin's abdomen.

It was at that moment that someone came skidding around the corner. Asuma had just finished with the ANBU when Kiba had begun roaring obscenities to the four winds; and he was struck dumb when he realized just what had happened. Finally the jounin found his voice, "I think you should apologize to Temari-san, Kiba."

"I think she should kiss my a…!" the Inuzuka's reply was cut short by a cry of pain as the kunoichi twisted her fan in his stomach, kicking Akamaru off of her ankle at the same time.

"What should I do, again?" Temari demanded darkly, glaring daggers down at her trapped prey. "You dirty little Konoha shinobi, do you have any idea how easily I could crush you?"

Asuma sighed and shook his head in frustration seconds before flickering and gently easing Temari's hands off of her Iron-fan, letting the weapon fall into the sand with a heavy thud. He realized that she's been put under a lot of stress today, and Kiba did deserve his fate, but he had to put a stop to this before it got out of hand. "You'll have to excuse Kiba; he's young and kind of stupid, but you don't need to kill him." Kiba was too busy groaning and holding his gut to stand up for himself.

"You need to teach that brat some manners, Sarutobi-san!" Temari growled hotly as she yanked her wrists free of his grip and glared at the two foreigners.

"I'm sorry for Kiba, Miss Temari. I'll handle it from here, so please…" Asuma began, but the girl cut him off.

"Baki-sensei ordered my team to gather up all of the visiting genin and show them around the village." Catching herself, Temari quickly corrected herself, "Kazekage-sama, I mean!"

A small grin came to his lips as Asuma helped Kiba to his feet, instantly realizing what the Wind Shadow had in mind; he was giving Kurenai and himself enough time to discuss the upcoming meeting with the Suna council without the interference of children that didn't need to listen in. "That's very thoughtful of the Kazekage, isn't it, Kiba? If you calm down and ask nicely, maybe Temari-san would know here all the cute girls hang out."

"You think so?" Kiba wondered, suddenly forgetting the pain in his stomach in favor of other… _priorities_… "Do you know where all the girls hang out?"

"…no, I don't." Temari murmured in a dangerously low voice, "But I'm sure that Kankurou has them memorized…" she said, reminding herself of the tone Baki had used when he issued the orders. He had told them that this wasn't an optional mission.

"There you go!" Asuma laughed, clapping Kiba on the shoulder. With a grin, he glanced towards Temari and suggested, "It would probably be safer to split them up; Temari-san, Kankurou-kun and Gaara-kun can keep two people company until curfew."

"That might be for the best." Temari grunted before squatting and reclaiming her fan, stuffing it into the back of her red sash. With a sigh she stood back up and crossing her arms, "Well, come on; let's go meet up with my brothers and get this over with. Good day, Sarutobi-san."

Asuma waved as the two genin and the puppy began down the road, thinking about how close they had come to creating an international dispute. Thankfully, his smooth talking had saved the day, but if he and Kurenai couldn't convince the council about the benefits of allying with Konoha, it might have been for nothing.

- Preview -

Two against six: Asuma and Kurenai face off with the Suna council as to whether they agree or disagree on an alliance treaty. And where is the Fourth Kazekage during all of this? In the next chapter of Naruto Neo, Shiengakure is revealed!


End file.
